Metal oxide and semiconductor device

ABSTRACT

A novel metal oxide is provided. The metal oxide has a plurality of energy gaps, and includes a first region having a high energy level of a conduction band minimum and a second region having an energy level of a conduction band minimum lower than that of the first region. The second region comprises more carriers than the first region. A difference between the energy level of the conduction band minimum of the first region and the energy level of the conduction band minimum of the second region is 0.2 eV or more. The energy gap of the first region is greater than or equal to 3.3 eV and less than or equal to 4.0 eV and the energy gap of the second region is greater than or equal to 2.2 eV and less than or equal to 2.9 eV.

TECHNICAL FIELD

One embodiment of the present invention relates to a metal oxide.

Note that one embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above technical field. The technical field of one embodiment of the invention disclosed in this specification and the like relates to an object, a method, or a manufacturing method. In addition, one embodiment of the present invention relates to a process, a machine, manufacture, or a composition of matter. In particular, one embodiment of the present invention relates to a metal oxide or a manufacturing method of the metal oxide. In addition, one embodiment of the present invention relates to a semiconductor device, a display device, a liquid crystal display device, a light-emitting device, a power storage device, a memory device, a driving method thereof, or a manufacturing method thereof.

In this specification and the like, a semiconductor device generally means a device that can function by utilizing semiconductor characteristics. A semiconductor element such as a transistor, a semiconductor circuit, an arithmetic device, and a memory device are each an embodiment of a semiconductor device. An imaging device, a display device, a liquid crystal display device, a light-emitting device, an electro-optical device, a power generation device (including a thin film solar cell, an organic thin film solar cell, and the like), and an electronic appliance may each include a semiconductor device.

BACKGROUND ART

As a semiconductor material applicable to a transistor, an oxide has been attracting attention. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a field-effect transistor including an amorphous oxide of any of an In—Zn—Ga—O-based oxide, an In—Zn—Ga—Mg—O-based oxide, an In—Zn—O-based oxide, an In—Sn—O-based oxide, an In—O-based oxide, an In—Ga—O-based oxide, and a Sn—In—Zn—O-based oxide.

Non-Patent Document 1 discusses a structure in which an active layer of a transistor includes two layers of metal oxides of an In—Zn—O-based oxide and an In—Ga—Zn—O-based oxide.

REFERENCE Patent Document

-   [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 5118810

Non-Patent Document

-   [Non-Patent Document 1] John F. Wager, “Oxide TFTs: A Progress     Report”, Information Display 1/16, SID 2016, January/February 2016,     Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 16-21

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

In Patent Document 1, an active layer of a transistor is formed using an amorphous oxide of any of an In—Zn—Ga—O-based oxide, an In—Zn—Ga—Mg—O-based oxide, an In—Zn—O-based oxide, an In—Sn—O-based oxide, an In—O-based oxide, an In—Ga—O-based oxide, and a Sn—In—Zn—O-based oxide. In other words, the active layer of the transistor includes one of the amorphous oxides. The transistor whose active layer includes one of the amorphous oxides has a problem of a small on-state current, which is one of electrical characteristics of the transistor. Alternatively, the transistor whose active layer includes one of the amorphous oxides has a problem of decreased reliability.

In Non-Patent Document 1, a channel-protective bottom-gate transistor achieves high field-effect mobility (μ=62 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹). An active layer of the transistor is a two-layer stack of an In—Zn oxide and an In—Ga—Zn oxide, and the thickness of the In—Zn oxide where a channel is formed is 10 nm. However, the S value (the subthreshold swing (SS)), which is one of transistor characteristics, is as large as 0.41 V/decade. Moreover, the threshold voltage (Vth), which is also one of transistor characteristics, is −2.9 V, which means that the transistor has a normally-on characteristic.

In view of the above problems, an object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a novel metal oxide. Another object of one embodiment of the present invention is to give favorable electrical characteristics to a semiconductor device. Another Object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable semiconductor device. Another object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device with a novel structure. Another object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a display device with a novel structure.

Note that the descriptions of these objects do not disturb the existence of other objects. In one embodiment of the present invention, there is no need to achieve all the objects. Other objects will be apparent from and can be derived from the description of the specification, the drawings, the claims, and the like.

One embodiment of the present invention is a metal oxide having a plurality of energy gaps. The metal oxide includes a first region having a high energy level of a conduction band minimum and a second region having an energy level of a conduction band minimum lower than that of the first region. The second region includes more carriers than the first region. A difference between the energy level of the conduction band minimum of the first region and the energy level of the conduction band minimum of the second region is greater than or equal to 0.2 eV. An energy gap of the first region is greater than or equal to 3.3 eV and less than or equal to 4.0 eV and an energy gap of the second region is greater than or equal to 2.2 eV and less than or equal to 2.9 eV.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a metal oxide having a plurality of energy gaps. The metal oxide includes a first region having a high energy level of a conduction band minimum and a second region having an energy level of a conduction band minimum lower than that of the first region. The first region includes an M oxide (M is at least two kinds of elements selected from Al, Ga, Si, Mg, Zr, Be, and B), an M nitride, or an In-M-Zn oxide. The second region includes an in oxide or an In—Zn oxide.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a metal oxide including a first region having a first energy gap and a second region having a second energy gap. The first region has an energy level of a conduction band minimum higher than that of the second region. The first region comprises a first oxide of a first metal element. The second region comprises a second oxide of a second metal element. The first oxide comprises a third element different from the first metal element to increase an energy gap. When the second region includes the third element, a concentration of the third element in the first region is higher than a concentration of the third element in the second region.

In any of the above embodiments, the first metal element is Ga, the second metal element is In, and the third element is at least two kinds of dements selected from Al, Si, Mg, Zr, Be, and B.

In any of the above embodiments, the first region further includes In and Zn, and the second region further includes Zn.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a semiconductor device including the above-described metal oxide, a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode,

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a novel metal oxide can be provided. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductor device with favorable electrical characteristics can be provided. A highly reliable semiconductor device can be provided. A semiconductor device with a novel structure can be provided. A display device with a novel structure can be provided.

Note that the description of these effects does not preclude the existence of other effects. One embodiment of the present invention does not necessarily achieve all the effects listed above. Other effects will be apparent from and can be derived from the description of the specification, the drawings, the claims, and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a conceptual view illustrating a composition of a metal oxide;

FIG. 2A is a schematic view of a transistor and FIGS. 2B and 2C are schematic views illustrating distribution of energy levels in the transistor;

FIGS. 3A to 3C each illustrate a model of a band diagram of a transistor;

FIGS. 4A to 4C each illustrate a model of a band diagram of a transistor;

FIGS. 5A to 5D are a top view, cross-sectional views, and a cross-sectional conceptual view illustrating one embodiment of a semiconductor device;

FIGS. 6A to 6D are a top view, cross-sectional views, and a cross-sectional conceptual view illustrating one embodiment of a semiconductor device;

FIGS. 7A to 7D are a top view, cross-sectional views, and a cross-sectional conceptual view illustrating one embodiment of a semiconductor device;

FIGS. 8A to 8D are a top view, cross-sectional views, and a cross-sectional conceptual view illustrating one embodiment of a semiconductor device;

FIGS. 9A to 9D are a top view, cross-sectional views, and a cross-sectional conceptual view illustrating one embodiment of a semiconductor device;

FIGS. 10A to 10D are a top view, cross-sectional views, and a cross-sectional conceptual view illustrating one embodiment of a semiconductor device;

FIGS. 11A to 11D are a top view, cross-sectional views, and a cross-sectional conceptual view illustrating one embodiment of a semiconductor device;

FIGS. 12A to 12D are a top view, cross-sectional views, and a cross-sectional conceptual view illustrating one embodiment of a semiconductor device;

FIGS. 13A to 13D are cross-sectional views illustrating an example of a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device;

FIGS. 14A to 14C are cross-sectional views illustrating an example of a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device;

FIGS. 15A to 15C are cross-sectional views illustrating an example of a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device;

FIGS. 16A and 16B each show a band structure;

FIG. 17 illustrates a structure example of a display panel; and

FIG. 18 illustrates a structure example of a display panel.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to drawings. However, the embodiments can be implemented with various modes. It will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that modes and details can be changed in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited to the following description of the embodiments.

In the drawings, the size, the layer thickness, or the region is exaggerated for clarity in some cases. Therefore, the size, the layer thickness, or the region is not limited to the illustrated scale. Note that the drawings are schematic views showing ideal examples, and embodiments of the present invention are not limited to shapes or values shown in the drawings.

Note that in this specification, ordinal numbers such as “first”, “second”, and “third” are used in order to avoid confusion among components, and the terms do not limit the components numerically.

In this specification, terms for v describing arrangement, such as “over”, “above”, “under”, and “below”, are used for convenience in describing a positional relation between components with reference to drawings. Furthermore, the positional relation between components is changed as appropriate in accordance with a direction in which each component is described. Thus, there is no limitation on terms used in this specification, and description can be made appropriately depending on the situation.

In this specification and the like, a transistor is an element having at least three terminals of a gate, a drain, and a source. The transistor has a channel region between a drain (a drain terminal, a drain region, or a drain electrode) and a source (a source terminal, a source region, or a source electrode), and current can flow through the drain, the channel region, and the source. Note that in this specification and the like, a channel region refers to a region through which current mainly flows.

Furthermore, functions of a source and a drain might be switched when transistors having different polarities are employed or a direction of current flow is changed in circuit operation, for example. Therefore, the terms “source” and “drain” can be switched in this specification and the like.

Note that in this specification and the like, the term “electrically connected” includes the case where components are connected through an “object having any electric function”. There is no particular limitation on the “object having any electric function” as long as electric signals can be transmitted and received between components that are connected through the object. Examples of an “object having any electric function” are a switching element such as a transistor, a resistor, an inductor, a capacitor, and an element with a variety of functions as well as an electrode and a wiring.

In this specification and the like, a “silicon oxynitride film” refers to a film that includes oxygen at a higher proportion than nitrogen, and a “silicon nitride oxide film” refers to a film that includes nitrogen at a higher proportion than oxygen.

In the description of modes of the present invention in this specification and the like with reference to the drawings, the same components in different drawings are commonly denoted by the same reference numeral in some cases.

In this specification and the like, the term “parallel” indicates that the angle formed between two straight lines is greater than or equal to −10° and less than or equal to 10°, and accordingly also includes the case where the angle is greater than or equal to −5° and less than or equal to 5°. In addition, the term “substantially parallel” indicates that the angle formed between two straight lines is greater than or equal to −30° and less than or equal to 30°. In addition, the term “perpendicular” indicates that the angle formed between two straight lines is greater than or equal to 80° and less than or equal to 100°, and accordingly also includes the case where the angle is greater than or equal to 85° and less than or equal to 95°. In addition, the term “substantially perpendicular” indicates that the angle formed between two straight lines is greater than or equal to 60° and less than or equal to 120°.

In this specification and the like, the terms “film” and “layer” can be interchanged with each other depending on the case. For example, the term “conductive layer” can be changed into the term “conductive film” in some cases. Also, the term “insulating film” can be changed into the term “insulating layer” in some cases.

Note that a “semiconductor” includes characteristics of an “insulator” in some cases when the conductivity is sufficiently low, for example. Furthermore, a “semiconductor” and an “insulator” cannot be strictly distinguished from each other in some cases because a border between the “semiconductor” and the “insulator” is not clear. Accordingly, a “semiconductor” in this specification can be called an “insulator” in some cases. Similarly, an “insulator” in this specification can be called a “semiconductor” in some cases.

In this specification and the like, a normally-on transistor is in an on-state even without application of potential by a power source (0 V). For example, in some cases, the normally-on characteristics mean that the threshold voltage of a transistor is negative when 0 V is applied to a gate of the transistor.

In this specification and the like, a metal oxide means an oxide of metal in a broad sense. Metal oxides are classified into an oxide insulator, an oxide conductor (including a transparent oxide conductor), an oxide semiconductor (also simply referred to as an OS), and the like. For example, a metal oxide used in an active layer of a transistor is called an oxide semiconductor in some cases. In other words, a metal oxide having at least one of an amplification function, a rectification function, and a switching function can be referred to as a metal oxide semiconductor (abbreviated to an OS). That is, an OS FET is a transistor including a metal oxide or an oxide semiconductor.

In this specification and the like, a metal oxide including nitrogen is also referred to as a metal oxide in some cases. Alternatively, a metal oxide including nitrogen may be referred to as a metal oxynitride.

Embodiment 1

In this embodiment, a metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention is described.

The metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention preferably includes at least In. In particular, In and Zn are preferably included. The metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention can include, in addition to In and Zn, an element M (the element M is at least two kinds of elements selected from Al, Ga, Si, Mg, Zr, Be, and B). In particular, as the element M, at least two kinds of elements selected from Al, Ga, and Si are preferably used. As the element M, a combination of Al and Ga, a combination of Al and Si, or a combination of Ga and Si is preferably used.

For example, an In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide, an In—Al—Si—Zn oxide, and an In—Ga—Si—Zn oxide are given as the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention.

The metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of components.

The metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention includes a first region and a second region. The first region includes an M oxide (M is at least two kinds of elements selected from Al, Ga, Si, Mg, Zr, Be, and B) and an In-M-Zn oxide. The second region includes an In oxide and/or an In—Zn oxide. In particular, the first region preferably includes a metal oxide having an energy level of a conduction band minimum greater than that of the second region by at least 0.2 eV or more at 1 atomic % to 50 atomic %.

When M is Al or Si, the M oxide may be replaced with an M nitride. Specifically, the M oxide may be replaced with aluminum nitride or silicon nitride.

The metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of components, and thus has a plurality of energy gaps. Specifically, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention has energy levels of conduction band minimums. Note that the term “a plurality of components” may be replaced with the term “a plurality of regions”.

In this specification, the energy gap is a difference in energy between the energy level of the valence band maximum (Ev edge) and the energy level of the conduction band minimum (Ec edge) in the band structure. The energy gap can also be referred to as the band gap.

The metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention includes a first region having a high Ec edge and a second region having an Ec edge lower than that of the first region. The second region includes more carriers than the first region. The difference between the Ec edge of the first region and the Ec edge of the second region is greater than or equal to 0.2 eV. The energy gap of the first region is greater than or equal to 3.3 eV and less than or equal to 4.0 eV and the energy gap of the second region is greater than or equal to 2.2 eV and less than or equal to 2.9 eV.

A composition in which the metal oxide includes In, the element M, and Zn is described with reference to FIG. 1.

<Composition of Metal Oxide>

FIG. 1 is a conceptual view of a metal oxide having a cloud-aligned composite (CAC) composition in one embodiment of the present invention. In this specification, a metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention having a semiconductor function is defined as a cloud-aligned composite oxide semiconductor (CAC-OS).

The CAC-OS is referred to as a matrix composite or a metal matrix composite in some cases.

For example, in the CAC-OS, as illustrated in FIG. 1, elements included in the metal oxide are unevenly distributed, and regions 001 mainly including an element and regions 002 mainly including another element are formed. The regions 001 and 002 are mixed to form a mosaic pattern. In other words, the CAC-OS has a composition in which elements included in a metal oxide are unevenly distributed. Materials including unevenly distributed elements each have a size of greater than or equal to 0.5 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm, preferably greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than or equal to 2 nm, or a similar size. Note that in the following description of a metal oxide, a state in which one or more elements are unevenly distributed and regions including the element(s) are mixed is referred to as a mosaic pattern or a patch-like pattern. The regions each have a size of greater than or equal to 0.5 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm, preferably greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than or equal to 2 nm, or a similar size.

For example, an In-M-Zn oxide having the CAC composition has a composition in which materials are separated into an In oxide (InO_(X1), where X1 is a real number greater than 0) or an In—Zn oxide (In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2), where X2, Y2, and Z2 are real numbers greater than 0), an In-M-Zn oxide (In_(W3)M_(X3)Zn_(Y3)O_(Z3), where W3, X3, Y3, and Z3 are real numbers greater than 0), an M oxide, and the like, and a mosaic pattern is formed. Then, InO_(X1) or In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2), In_(W3)M_(X3)Zn_(Y3)O_(Z3), the M oxide, and the like forming the mosaic pattern are distributed in the film. Hereinafter, this composition is also referred to as a cloud-like composition.

In other words, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention includes at least two oxides or components selected from an In oxide, an In—Zn oxide, an In-M oxide, an M oxide, an In-M-Zn oxide, and an M-Zn oxide.

In the case where the element M is Al and Ga, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention includes at least two oxides selected from a Ga oxide, an In oxide, an In—Zn oxide, a Ga—Al oxide, an In—Ga oxide, an In—Ga—Zn oxide, a Ga—Zn oxide, an Al oxide, an In—Al oxide, and an In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide. In particular, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention may be an In—Al—Zn oxide, an In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide, or the like in which an oxide including Al, an oxide including Zn, and any of the above oxides are combined.

In the case where the element M is Si and Ga, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention includes at least two oxides selected from a Ga oxide, an In oxide, an In—Zn oxide, a Ga—Si oxide, an In—Ga oxide, an In—Ga—Zn oxide, a Ga—Zn oxide, a Si oxide, an In—Si oxide, and an In—Si—Ga—Zn oxide. In particular, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention may be an In—Si—Zn oxide, an In—Si—Ga—Zn oxide, or the like in which an oxide including Si, an oxide including Zn, and any of the above oxides are combined.

That is, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention can be referred to as a composite material including a plurality of materials or a plurality of components.

Here, let a concept in FIG. 1 illustrate an In-M-Zn oxide with the CAC composition. In this case, it can be said that the region 001 is a region including an oxide including the element M as a main component and the region 002 is a region including InO_(X1) or In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2) as a main component. Surrounding portions of the region 001 and the region 002 are unclear (blurred), so that boundaries of the region 001 and the region 002 are not clearly observed in some cases.

In other words, an In-M-Zn oxide with the CAC composition is a metal oxide in which a region including an oxide including the element M as a main component and a region including InO_(X1) or In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2) as a main component are mixed. Accordingly, the metal oxide is referred to as a composite metal oxide in some cases.

In the In-M-Zn oxide with the CAC composition, crystal structures of the region 001 and the region 002 are not particularly limited. The region 001 and the region 002 may have different crystal structures.

For example, the In-M-Zn oxide having the CAC composition is preferably an oxide semiconductor having a non-single crystal structure. Non-single crystal refers to an amorphous structure, a polycrystalline structure, and the like other than single crystal. Examples of a non-single-crystal oxide semiconductor include a CAAC-OS, a polycrystalline oxide semiconductor, a nanocrystalline oxide semiconductor (nc-OS), an amorphous-like oxide semiconductor (a-like OS), and an amorphous oxide semiconductor.

The CAAC-OS has a CAAC structure. An oxide semiconductor having a CAAC structure has c-axis alignment, its nanocrystals are connected in the a-b plane direction, and the crystal structure has distortion. Note that the distortion is a portion where the direction of a lattice arrangement changes between a region with a regular lattice arrangement and another region with a regular lattice arrangement in a region in which nanocrystals are connected.

The shape of the nanocrystal is basically hexagon. However, the shape is not always a regular hexagon and is a non-regular hexagon in some cases. A pentagonal lattice arrangement, a heptagonal lattice arrangement, and the like are included in the distortion in some cases. Accordingly, in the CAAC-OS, a grain boundary cannot be clearly observed also in the vicinity of the distortion. That is, formation of a grain boundary is inhibited due to the distortion of lattice arrangement. This is probably because the CAAC-OS can tolerate distortion owing to a low density of the atomic arrangement in the a-b plane direction, the interatomic bond distance changed by substitution of a metal element, and the like.

In the nc-OS, a microscopic region (for example, a region with a size greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm, in particular, a region with a size greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than or equal to 3 nm) has a periodic atomic arrangement. There is no regularity of crystal orientation between different nanocrystals in the nc-OS. Thus, the orientation of the whole film is not observed. Accordingly, the nc-OS cannot be distinguished from an a-like OS or an amorphous oxide semiconductor, depending on an analysis method.

The a-like OS has a structure between those of the nc-OS and the amorphous oxide semiconductor. The a-like OS includes a void or a low-density region. That is, the a-like OS has an unstable structure, compared to the nc-OS and the CAAC-OS.

For example, the CAC-OS preferably has the CAAC structure. The CAAC structure is formed in a region including the region 001 or the region 002 in some cases. That is, in the CAC-OS, a region to be the CAAC-OS is formed in a several-nanometer to several-tens of nanometer region.

The CAAC-OS is an oxide semiconductor with high crystallinity. In contrast, in the CAAC-OS, a reduction in electron mobility due to the grain boundary is less likely to occur because a clear grain boundary cannot be observed. Thus, with the CAAC-OS, a metal oxide is physically stable; thus, a metal oxide which is resistant to heat and has high reliability can be provided.

The case where the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention is an In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide is described. Materials are separated into InO_(X1) or In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2), and In_(W3)Al_(X3)Zn_(Y3)O_(Z3) or In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e) (a, b, c, d, and e are real numbers greater than 0), and a mosaic pattern is formed.

In other words, an In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide including a CAC-OS is a composite metal oxide having a composition in which a region including In_(W3)Al_(X3)Zn_(Y3)O_(Z3) or In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e) as a main component and a region including InO_(X1) or In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2) as a main component are mixed. Surrounding portions of the region including In_(W3)Al_(X3)Zn_(Y3)O_(Z3) or In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e) as a main component and the region including InO_(X1) or In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2) as a main component are unclear (blurred), so that a boundary is not clearly observed in some cases.

For example, in the conceptual view in FIG. 1, the region 001 corresponds to the region including In_(W3)Al_(X3)Zn_(Y3)O_(Z3) or In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e) as a main component and the region 002 corresponds to the region including InO_(X1) or In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2) as a main component. The region including In_(W3)Al_(X3)Zn_(Y3)O_(Z3) or In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e) as a main component and the region including InO_(X1) or In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2) as a main component may each be referred to as a nanoparticle. The diameter of the nanoparticle is greater than or equal to 0.5 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm, typically greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than or equal to 2 nm. Surrounding portions of the nanoparticles are unclear (blurred), so that a boundary is not clearly observed in some cases.

The sizes of the region 001 and the region 002 can be measured with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) mapping images obtained by EDX. For example, the diameter of the region 001 is greater than or equal to 0.5 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm, or greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than or equal to 2 nm in the EDX mapping image of a cross-sectional photograph in some cases. The density of an element which is a main component is gradually lowered from the central portion of the region toward the surrounding portion. For example, when the number (abundance) of atoms of an element countable in an EDX mapping image gradually changes from the central portion toward the surrounding portion, the surrounding portion of the region is unclear (blurred) in the EDX mapping of the cross-sectional photograph. For example, from the central portion toward the surrounding portion in the region including In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e) as a main component, the number of Al atoms and Ga atoms gradually reduces and the numbers of In atoms and Zn atoms gradually increase, so that the region including In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2) as a main component gradually appears. Accordingly, the surrounding portion of the region including In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e) as a main component is unclear (blurred) in the EDX mapping image.

A crystal structure of the In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide with the CAC composition is not particularly limited. The region 001 and the region 002 may have different crystal structures. For example, the In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide with the CAC composition is preferably an oxide semiconductor having a non-single-crystal structure.

The crystallinity of the In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide including a CAC-OS can be analyzed by electron diffraction. For example, in analysis of the In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide by electron diffraction, a region with high luminance m a ring pattern and a plurality of spots in the region with high luminance in a ring pattern are observed in some cases in an electron diffraction pattern image.

The conductivity of the region including InO_(X1) or In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2) as a main component (the region 002 in FIG. 1) is higher than that of the region including In_(W3)Al_(X3)Zn_(Y3)O_(Z3) or In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e) as a main component (the region 001 in FIG. 1). In other words, when carriers flow through the regions including InO_(X1) or In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2) as a main component, the conductivity of an oxide semiconductor is generated. Accordingly, when the regions including InO_(X1) or In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2) as a main component are distributed in an oxide semiconductor like a cloud, high field-effect mobility (μ) can be achieved. The region including In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2), or the like as a main component can be said to be a semiconductor region whose properties are close to those of a conductor.

In contrast, the conductivity of the region including In_(W3)Al_(X3)Zn_(Y3)O_(Z3) or In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e) as a main component is lower than that of the region including InO_(X1) or In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2) as a main component. In other words, when the regions including In_(W3)Al_(X3)Zn_(Y3)O_(Z3) or In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e) as a main component are distributed in a metal oxide, leakage current can be suppressed and favorable switching operation can be achieved. The region including In_(W3)Al_(X3)Zn_(Y3)O_(Z3) or In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e) as a main component can be said to be a semiconductor region whose properties are close to those of an insulator. Furthermore, the conductivity of In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e) including an Al oxide and a Ga oxide is higher than that of In_(W3)Al_(X3)Zn_(Y3)O_(Z3).

Accordingly, when the In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide including an CAC-OS is used for a semiconductor element, the property derived from In_(W3)Al_(X3)Zn_(Y3)O_(Z3) or In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e) and the property derived from InO_(X1) or In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2) complement each other, whereby high on-state current (I_(on)), high field-effect mobility (μ), and low off-state current (I_(off)) can be achieved.

A semiconductor element including the In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide including an CAC-OS has high reliability. Thus, the In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide including an CAC-OS is suitably used in a variety of semiconductor devices typified by a display.

<Transistor Including Metal Oxide>

Next, the case where the metal oxide is used as a semiconductor in a transistor is described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2C.

With the use of the metal oxide as a semiconductor in a transistor, the transistor can have high field-effect mobility and high switching characteristics. In addition, the transistor can have high reliability.

FIG. 2A is a schematic view of a transistor including the metal oxide in a channel region. The transistor in FIG. 2A includes a source, a drain, a first gate, a second gate, a first gate insulating portion, a second gate insulating portion, and a channel portion. The resistance of a channel portion of a transistor can be controlled by application of a potential to a gate. That is, conduction (the on state of the transistor) or non-conduction (the off state of the transistor) between the source and the drain can be controlled by a potential applied to the first gate or the second gate.

The channel portion includes a CAC-OS in which the regions 001 having a first energy gap and the regions 002 having a second energy gap are distributed like a cloud. The first energy gap is larger than the second energy gap.

For example, the case where the In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide with the CAC composition is used as the CAC-OS in the channel portion is described. The In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide with the CAC composition has a composition in which materials are separated into, as the region 001, a region including In_(W3)Al_(X3)Zn_(Y3)X_(Z3) or In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e) as a main component and having higher Al or Ga concentration than the region 002, and, as the region 002, a region including InO_(X1) or In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2) as a main component and having higher In concentration than the region 001, and a mosaic pattern is formed. Then, In_(W3)Al_(X3)Zn_(Y3)O_(Z3) and/or In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e), and InO_(X1) and/or In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2) are distributed in the film. This composition is also referred to as a cloud-like composition. The region 001 including In_(W3)Al_(X3)Zn_(Y3)O_(Z3) or In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e) as a main component has an energy gap greater than that of the region 002 including InO_(X1) or In_(X2)Zn_(Y2)O_(Z2) as a main component. Furthermore, the energy gap of In_(a)Al_(b)Ga_(c)Zn_(d)O_(e) including an Al oxide and a Ga oxide is less than that of In_(W3)Al_(X3)Zn_(Y3)O_(Z3). The energy gap of the region 001 is greater than or equal to 3.3 eV and less than or equal to 4.0 eV and the energy gap of the region 002 is greater than or equal to 2.2 eV and less than or equal to 2.9 eV.

A conduction model of the transistor illustrated in FIG. 2A is described with reference to FIG. 2B. FIG. 2B is a schematic view showing distribution of energy levels between the source and the drain of the transistor illustrated in FIG. 2A. FIG. 2C is a conduction band diagram on solid line X-X′ in the transistor illustrated in FIG. 2A. Note that in each conduction band diagram, a solid line indicates the energy of the conduction band minimum. A dashed line E_(f) indicates the energy of the quasi-Fermi level of electrons. The case is assumed where a negative voltage is applied between the gate and the source as a first gate voltage and a drain voltage (V_(d)>0) is applied between the source and the drain. In FIGS. 2A to 2C, the energy of the conduction band minimum is denoted by CB.

When a negative gate voltage is applied to the transistor illustrated in FIG. 2A, an energy of a conduction band minimum CB₀₀₁ derived from the region 001 and an energy of a conduction band minimum CB₀₀₂ derived from the region 002 are formed between the source and the drain as illustrated in FIG. 2B. Since the first energy gap is larger than the second energy gap, the potential barrier of the energy of the conduction band minimum CB₀₀₁ is higher than the potential barrier of the energy of the conduction band minimum CB₀₀₂. That is, the maximum value of the potential barrier in the channel portion is a value derived from the region 001. Thus, the use of the CAC-OS in the channel portion in a transistor can suppress leakage current and achieve high switching characteristics.

As illustrated in FIG. 2C, the energy gap of the region 001 having the first energy gap is relatively wider than the energy gap of the region 002 having the second energy gap; thus, the Ec edge of the region 001 having the first energy gap can exist at a relatively higher level than the Ec edge of the region 002 having the second energy gap.

Let the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention to be an In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide.

In the In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide, the insulating property of the Al oxide is higher than those of the In oxide, the In—Zn oxide, and the Ga oxide. That is, the Al oxide has a greater energy gap than the In oxide, the In—Zn oxide, and the Ga oxide. In this manner, when the Al oxide having a large energy gap is included, a difference between the Ec edge of the region having a first energy gap and the Ec edge of the region having a second energy gap can be made large. Thus, in the case where the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention is used in a semiconductor layer of a transistor, the field-effect mobility of the transistor is improved and the oxygen vacancies are reduced, whereby a highly reliable semiconductor device can be obtained.

Although Al is used in the above composition, Si, Mg, Zr, Be, or B may be used instead of Al.

In the above composition, in some cases, a component of the region 001 having the first energy gap is derived from the In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide or the In—Al—Zn oxide, and a component of the region 002 having the second energy gap is derived from the In—Zn oxide or the In oxide. In this case, the first energy gap is greater than or equal to 3.3 eV and less than or equal to 4.0 eV and the second energy gap is greater than or equal to 2.2 eV and less than or equal to 2.9 eV. Values obtained by measurement of single films of respective materials with an ellipsometer can be used as the values of the energy gaps.

In the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention, the difference between the energy level of the conduction band minimum derived from the region 001 and the energy level of the conduction band minimum derived from the region 002 is preferably 0.2 eV or more. Since the position of the energy of the valence band maximum derived from the region 001 having the first energy gap is different from the position of the energy of the valence band maximum derived from the region 002 having the second energy gap in some cases, the difference between the energy level of the conduction band minimum derived from the region 001 and the energy level of the conduction band minimum derived from the region 002 is preferably 0.3 eV or more, further preferably 0.4 eV or more.

In the case of the above assumption, when carriers flow through the CAC-OS, the carriers flow owing to an In—Zn oxide or an In oxide which has the second energy gap, i.e., a small energy gap. At this time, the carriers overflow the second energy gap into the first energy gap, the In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide or the In—Al—Zn oxide side which has a large energy gap. In other words, carriers are easily generated in an In—Zn oxide or an In oxide which has a small energy gap, and the carriers move to an In—Al—Ga—Zn oxide or an In—Al—Zn oxide which has a large energy gap.

The carrier density of the region having the first band gap, i.e., a large energy gap, is higher than or equal to 1×10¹⁰ cm⁻³ and lower than or equal to 1×10¹⁶ cm⁻³, preferably approximately 1×10¹⁵ cm⁻³. The carrier density of the region having the second band gap, i.e., a small energy gap, is preferably higher than or equal to 1×10¹⁸ cm⁻³ and lower than 1×10²¹ cm⁻³.

In the metal oxide where the channel portion is formed, the regions 001 and the regions 002 form a mosaic pattern and are irregularly unevenly distributed. For this reason, the conduction band diagram on solid line X-X′ is merely an example.

Next, conduction band diagrams different from the conduction band diagram in FIG. 2C are shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C. In FIGS. 3A to 3C, the energy of the conduction band minimum is denoted by Ec.

In the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention, it is basically acceptable as long as a band in which the region 002 is between the regions 001 is formed as shown in FIG. 3A. Alternatively, a band in which the region 001 is between the regions 002 is formed.

In a connection portion of the region 001 having the first energy gap and the region 002 having the second energy gap in the CAC-OS, an aggregation state and the composition of the regions become unstable in some cases. Accordingly, as illustrated in FIGS. 3B and 3C, the bands change not discontinuously but continuously in some cases. In other words, the first energy gap and the second energy gap work together when carriers flow through the CAC-OS.

FIGS. 4A to 4C are model diagrams of band diagrams on solid line X-X′ in the transistor illustrated in FIG. 2A. When a voltage is applied to the first gate, the same voltage is applied to the second gate.

FIG. 4A shows a state (on state) in which, as a first gate voltage V_(g), a positive voltage (V_(g)>0) is applied between each of the gates and the source. FIG. 4B shows a state in which the first gate voltage V_(g) is not applied (V_(g)<0). FIG. 4C shows a state (off state) in which, as the first gate voltage V_(g), a negative voltage (V_(g)<0) is applied between each of the gates and the source. Note that in each conduction band diagram, a solid line indicates the energy CB of the conduction band minimum. A dashed line E_(f) indicates the energy of the quasi-Fermi level of electrons.

In a transistor including the CAC-OS in a channel portion, the region 001 having the first energy gap and the region 002 having the second energy gap electrically interact with each other. In other words, the region 001 having the first energy gap and the region 002 having the second energy gap function complementarily.

As illustrated in FIG. 4A, when a potential at which the transistor is turned on (V_(g)>0) is applied to the first gate, electrons flow in the region 002 having the second energy gap with the low energy of the conduction band minimum and serving as a main conduction path. At the same time, electrons also flow in the region 001 having the first energy gap. This enables high current drive capability in the on state of the transistor, i.e., high on-state current and high field-effect mobility.

In contrast, as illustrated in FIGS. 4B and 4C, when a voltage lower than the threshold voltage (V_(g)≦0) is applied to the first gate, the region 001 having the first energy gap serves as a dielectric (insulator), so that the conduction path in the region 001 is blocked. The region 002 having the second energy gap is in contact with the region 001 having the first energy gap. Consequently, the region 001 having the first energy gap electrically interact with each other and also with the region 002 having the second energy gap, and thus, even the conduction path in the region 002 having the second energy gap is blocked. Accordingly, the whole channel portion is brought into a non-conductive state, and the transistor is turned off.

As described above, with the use of the CAC-OS in a transistor, it is possible to reduce or prevent leakage current between a gate and a source or a drain, which is generated when the transistor operates, for example, when a potential difference is generated between the gate and the source or the drain.

A metal oxide film with reduced hydrogen concentration is preferably used in a transistor. The metal oxide film with reduced hydrogen concentration may be referred to as a highly purified intrinsic or substantially highly purified intrinsic metal oxide. The highly purified intrinsic or substantially highly purified intrinsic metal oxide can have a low carrier density because carriers due to hydrogen (e.g., V_(o)H in which hydrogen is bonded to an oxygen vacancy) are few. The highly purified intrinsic or substantially highly purified intrinsic metal oxide has a low density of defect states and accordingly has a low density of trap states in some cases.

Charge trapped by the trap states in the metal oxide takes a long time to be released and may behave like fixed charge. Thus, a transistor whose channel region is formed in a metal oxide having a high density of trap states has unstable electrical characteristics in some cases.

In order to obtain stable electrical characteristics of the transistor, it is effective to reduce the concentration of impurities in the metal oxide. In addition, in order to reduce the concentration of impurities in the metal oxide, the concentration of impurities in a film that is adjacent to the metal oxide is preferably reduced. Examples of impurities include hydrogen and alkali metal.

Here, the influence of impurities in the metal oxide will be described.

When carbon that is a Group 14 element is contained in the metal oxide, defect states are formed in the metal oxide. Thus, the concentration of carbon (measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS)) is set to be lower than or equal to 2×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³, preferably lower than or equal to 2×10¹⁷ atoms/cm³ in the metal oxide or around an interface with the metal oxide.

When the metal oxide contains alkali metal, defect states are formed and carriers are generated, in some cases. Thus, a transistor including a metal oxide that contains alkali metal is likely to be normally on. Therefore, it is preferable to reduce the concentration of alkali metal in the metal oxide. Specifically, the concentration of alkali metal in the metal oxide measured by SIMS is set to be lower than or equal to 1×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³, preferably lower than or equal to 2×10¹⁶ atoms/cm³.

Hydrogen included in the metal oxide reacts with oxygen bonded to a metal atom to be water, and thus causes an oxygen vacancy (V_(o)) in some cases. Due to entry of hydrogen into the oxygen vacancy (V_(o)), an electron serving as a carrier is generated in some cases. Furthermore, in some cases, bonding of part of hydrogen to oxygen bonded to a metal atom causes generation of an electron serving as a carrier. Thus, a transistor including the metal oxide that includes hydrogen is likely to be normally on. Accordingly, hydrogen in the metal oxide is preferably reduced as much as possible. Specifically, the hydrogen concentration of the metal oxide, which is measured by SIMS, is set to higher than or equal to 1×10¹⁶ atoms/cm³ and lower than 3×10²¹ atoms/cm³, preferably higher than or equal to 1×10¹⁷ atoms/cm³ and lower than 3×10²⁰ atoms/cm³.

The oxygen vacancies (V_(o)) in the metal oxide can be reduced by introduction of oxygen into the metal oxide. That is, the oxygen vacancies (V_(o)) in the metal oxide disappear when the oxygen vacancies (V_(o)) are filled with oxygen. Accordingly, diffusion of oxygen in the metal oxide can reduce the oxygen vacancies (V_(o)) in a transistor and improve the reliability of the transistor.

As a method for introducing oxygen into the metal oxide, for example, an oxide in which oxygen content is higher than that in the stoichiometric composition is provided in contact with the metal oxide. That is, in the oxide, a region including oxygen in excess of that in the stoichiometric composition (hereinafter also referred to as an excess oxygen region) is preferably formed. In particular, in the case of using a metal oxide in a transistor, an oxide including an excess oxygen region is provided in a base film, an interlayer film, or the like in the vicinity of the transistor, whereby oxygen vacancies in the transistor are reduced, and the reliability can be improved.

When a metal oxide with sufficiently reduced impurity concentration is used for a channel formation region in a transistor, the transistor can have stable electrical characteristics.

<Method for Forming Metal Oxide>

An example of a method for forming the metal oxide is described below.

The metal oxide is preferably formed at a temperature higher than or equal to room temperature (e.g., 25° C.) and lower than or equal to 170° C., further preferably formed at a temperature higher than or equal to 100° C. and lower than 150° C. For example, a large substrate like a 10th-generation substrate has a substrate temperature limit in accordance with its size. Accordingly, the substrate temperature is set as appropriate to a temperature which is higher than the evaporation temperature of water (higher than or equal to 100° C.) and enables favorable maintainability and throughput of an apparatus. Note that the room temperature includes a state where heating is not performed intentionally.

As a sputtering gas, a rare gas (typically argon), oxygen, or a mixed gas of a rare gas and oxygen is used as appropriate. When the mixed gas is used, the proportion of the oxygen gas in the whole deposition gas is higher than or equal to 0% and lower than or equal to 30%, preferably higher than or equal to 5% and lower than or equal to 20%.

In addition, increasing the purity of a sputtering gas is necessary. For example, an oxygen gas or an argon gas used for a sputtering gas is highly purified to have a dew point of −40° C. or lower, preferably −80° C. or lower, further preferably −100° C. or lower, still further preferably −120° C. or lower, whereby entry of moisture or the like into the metal oxide can be minimized.

In the case where the metal oxide is deposited by a sputtering method, a chamber in a sputtering apparatus is preferably evacuated to a high vacuum (to the degree of approximately 5×10⁻⁷ Pa to 1×10⁻⁴ Pa) with an adsorption vacuum pump such as a cryopump in order to remove water or the like, which serves as an impurity for the metal oxide, as much as possible. Alternatively, a turbo molecular pump and a cold trap are preferably combined so as to prevent a backflow of a gas, especially a gas containing carbon or hydrogen from an exhaust system to the inside of the chamber.

As a target, an In-M-Zn metal oxide target can be used. For example, a metal oxide target having an atomic ratio of In:Al:Ga:Zn=4:1:1:4, In:Al:Si:Zn=4:1:1:4, In:Ga:Si:Zn=4:1:1:4, In:Al:Ga:Zn=5:0.5:0.5:7, In:Al:Si:Zn=5:0.5:0.5:7. In:Ga:Si:Zn=5:0.5:0.5:7 or the vicinity thereof can be preferably used.

In addition, in the sputtering apparatus, a magnet unit placed in the vicinity of the target may be rotated or moved. For example, the magnet unit is oscillated vertically or horizontally during the deposition, whereby the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention can be formed. The magnet unit is oscillated with a beat of greater than or equal to 0.1 Hz and less than or equal to 1 kHz, for example.

The metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention can be formed, for example, in the following manner: a mixed gas of oxygen and a rare gas in which the proportion of oxygen is approximately 10%; the substrate temperature is 130° C.; and the magnet unit placed in the vicinity of (e.g., on a rear surface of) an In—Al—Ga—Zn metal oxide target having an atomic ratio of In:Al:Ga:Zn=5:0.5:0.5:7.

Note that the structures described in this embodiment can be used in appropriate combination with any of the structures described in the other embodiments.

Embodiment 2

In this embodiment, semiconductor devices each including the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention, and manufacturing methods thereof will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5D, FIGS. 6A to 6D, FIGS. 7A to 7D, FIGS. 8A to 8D, FIGS. 9A to 9D, FIGS. 10A to 10D, FIGS. 11A to 11D, FIGS. 12A to 12D, FIGS. 13A to 13D, FIGS. 14A to 14C, FIGS. 15A to 15C, and FIGS. 16A and 16B.

<2-1. Structure Example 1 of Semiconductor Device>

FIG. 5A is a top view of a transistor 100A that is a semiconductor device of one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along dashed-dotted line X1-X2 in FIG. 5A. FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view taken along dashed-dotted line Y1-Y2 in FIG. 5A. FIG. 5D is an enlarged cross-sectional conceptual view of a region P1 illustrated in FIG. 5B.

Note that in FIG. 5A, some components of the transistor 100A (e.g., an insulating film functioning as a gate insulating film) are not illustrated to avoid complexity. The direction of the dashed-dotted line X1-X2 may be called a channel length direction, and the direction of the dashed-dotted line Y1-Y2 may be called a channel width direction. As in FIG. 5A, some components are not illustrated in some cases in top views of transistors described below.

The transistor 100A includes a conductive film 106 over a substrate 102, an insulating film 104 over the substrate 102 and the conductive film 106, a metal oxide 108 over the insulating film 104, a conductive film 112 a over the metal oxide 108, a conductive film 112 b over the metal oxide 108, an insulating film 114 over the metal oxide 108, the conductive film 112 a, and the conductive film 112 b, an insulating film 116 over the insulating film 114, a conductive film 120 a over the insulating film 116, and a conductive film 120 b over the insulating film 116.

The insulating film 104 includes an opening 151, and a conductive film 112 c, which is electrically connected to the conductive film 106 through the opening 151, is formed over the insulating film 104. The insulating films 114 and 116 include an opening 152 a which reaches the conductive film 112 b and an opening 152 b which reaches the conductive film 112 c.

The metal oxide 108 includes the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention described in Embodiment 1. Here, a connection between the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention and a conductive film is described with reference to FIG. 5D.

As illustrated in the region P1 in FIG. 5D, a top surface and a side surface of the metal oxide 108 are in contact with the conductive film 112 a; thus, contact resistance can be reduced. In addition, the metal oxide 108 has the CAC composition in FIG. 1 and the region 002 included in the CAC composition, i.e., a region with high conductivity is in contact with the conductive film 112 a; thus, the contact resistance can be further reduced. Although not illustrated, a connection between the metal oxide 108 and the conductive film 112 b is similar to that in the region P1.

The metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention includes a highly conductive region and the contact resistance between the metal oxide and the conductive film is reduced. Thus, the field-effect mobility of the transistor including the metal oxide can be increased.

Specifically, the field-effect mobility of the transistor 100A can be higher than 50 cm²/Vs, preferably higher than 100 cm²/Vs.

For example, the use of the transistor with high field-effect mobility in a gate driver that is included in a display device and generates a gate signal allows the display device to have a narrow frame. The use of the transistor with high field-effect mobility in a source driver (particularly in a demultiplexer connected to an output terminal of a shift register included in a source driver) that is included in a display device and supplies a signal from a signal line can reduce the number of wirings connected to the display device.

Impurities such as hydrogen and moisture entering the metal oxide 108 adversely affect the transistor characteristics and therefore cause a problem. Thus, it is preferable that the amount of impurities such as hydrogen and moisture in the channel region of the metal oxide 108 be as small as possible. Furthermore, oxygen vacancies formed in the channel region of the metal oxide 108 adversely affect the transistor characteristics and therefore cause a problem. For example, oxygen vacancies formed in the channel region of the metal oxide 108 are bonded to hydrogen to serve as a carrier supply source. The carrier supply source generated in the channel region of the metal oxide 108 causes a change in the electrical characteristics, typically, a shift in the threshold voltage, of the transistor 100A including the metal oxide 108. Thus, it is preferable that the amount of oxygen vacancies in the channel region of the metal oxide 108 be as small as possible.

In addition, the conductive film 112 c is electrically connected to the conductive film 120 a through the opening 152 b, and the conductive film 112 b is electrically connected to the conductive film 120 b through the opening 152 a. Note that the conductive film 120 a and the conductive film 120 b are formed by processing the same conductive film.

In addition, an insulating film 118 is provided over the transistor 100A. The insulating film 118 is formed to cover the insulating film 116, the conductive film 120 a, and the conductive film 120 b.

Note that in the transistor 100A, the insulating film 104 functions as a first gate insulating film of the transistor 100A, the insulating films 114 and 116 function as a second gate insulating film of the transistor 100A, and the insulating film 118 functions as a protective insulating film of the transistor 100A.

In addition, in the transistor 100A, the conductive film 106 functions as a first gate electrode, the conductive film 120 a functions as a second gate electrode, and the conductive film 120 b functions as a pixel electrode included in the display device. Moreover, in the transistor 100A, the conductive film 112 a functions as a source electrode and the conductive film 112 b functions as a drain electrode. Furthermore, in the transistor 100A, the conductive film 112 c functions as a connection electrode. In this specification and the like, the insulating film 104 may be referred to as a first insulating film, the insulating films 114 and 116 may be referred to as a second insulating film, and the insulating film 118 may be referred to as a third insulating film.

As illustrated in FIG. 5C, the conductive film 120 a functioning as the second gate electrode is electrically connected to the conductive film 106 functioning as the first gate electrode through the conductive film 112 c functioning as the connection electrode. Accordingly, the conductive film 106 and the conductive film 120 a are supplied with the same potential.

As illustrated in FIG. 5C, the metal oxide 108 faces the conductive film 106 functioning as the first gate electrode and the conductive film 120 a functioning as the second gate electrode, and is positioned between the two films functioning as the gate electrodes. The length of the conductive film 120 a in the channel length direction and the length of the conductive film 120 a in the channel width direction are longer than the length of the metal oxide 108 in the channel length direction and the length of the metal oxide 108 in the channel width direction, respectively, and the whole metal oxide 108 is covered with the conductive film 120 a with the insulating films 114 and 116 provided therebetween.

In other words, in the channel width direction of the transistor 100A, the metal oxide 108 is surrounded by the conductive film 106 functioning as the first gate electrode and the conductive film 120 a functioning as the second gate electrode with the insulating film 104 functioning as the first gate insulating film and the insulating films 114 and 116 functioning as the second gate insulating film provided therebetween.

Such a structure makes it possible that the metal oxide 108 included in the transistor 100A is electrically surrounded by electric fields of the conductive film 106 functioning as the first gate electrode and the conductive film 120 a functioning as the second gate electrode. A device structure of a transistor in which electric fields of a first gate electrode and a second gate electrode electrically surround a metal oxide where a channel region is formed, like in the transistor 100A, can be referred to as a surrounded channel (S-channel) structure.

Since the transistor 100A has the S-channel structure, an electric field for inducing a channel can be effectively applied to the metal oxide 108 by the conductive film 106 functioning as the first gate electrode; therefore, the current drive capability of the transistor 100A can be improved and high on-state current characteristics can be obtained. Since the on-state current can be increased, it is possible to reduce the size of the transistor 100A. In addition, since the transistor 100A has a structure where the metal oxide 108 is surrounded by the conductive film 106 functioning as the first gate electrode and the conductive film 120 a functioning as the second gate electrode, the mechanical strength of the transistor 100A can be increased.

<2-2. Structure Example 2 of Semiconductor Device>

Next, modification examples of the transistor 100.A shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C are described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6D, FIGS. 7A to 7D, and FIGS. 8A to 8D.

First, description is made with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6D.

FIGS. 6A to 6C are a top view and cross-sectional views of a transistor 100B, which is a modification example of the transistor 100A in FIGS. 5A to 5C. FIG. 6D is an enlarged cross-sectional conceptual view of a region P2 illustrated in FIG. 6B.

In the transistor 100B in FIGS. 6A to 6C, the metal oxide 108, which is also included in the transistor 100A in FIGS. 5A to 5C, has a two-layer structure. Specifically, the metal oxide 108 included in the transistor 100B includes a metal oxide 108_2 and a metal oxide 108_3 over the metal oxide 108_2.

For example, as the metal oxide 108_2 included in the metal oxide 108, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention can be used.

As shown in the region P2 in FIG. 6D, the top surface and the side surface of the metal oxide 108 are in contact with the conductive film 112 a; thus, contact resistance can be reduced. In addition, the metal oxide 108_2 included in the metal oxide 108 has the CAC composition in FIG. 1, and the region 002 included in the CAC composition, that is, a region with high conductivity is in contact with the conductive film 112 a; thus, the contact resistance can be further reduced. Even if a metal oxide having low conductivity, for example, an oxide with a wide band gap (e.g., Eg is larger than or equal to 3.3 eV) is used as the metal oxide 108_3, the side surface of the metal oxide 108_2 is in contact with the conductive film 112 a, whereby the contact resistance can be reduced. Although not illustrated, a connection between the metal oxide 108 and the conductive film 112 b is similar to that in the region P2.

Next, description is made with reference to FIGS. 7A to 7D.

FIGS. 7A to 7C are a top view and cross-sectional views of a transistor 100C, which is a modification example of the transistor 100A in FIGS. 5A to 5C. FIG. 7D is an enlarged cross-sectional conceptual view of a region P3 illustrated in FIG. 7B.

In the transistor 100C in FIGS. 7A to 7C, the metal oxide 108, which is also included in the transistor 100A in FIGS. 5A to 5C, has a three-layer structure. Specifically, the metal oxide 108 included in the transistor 100C includes a metal oxide 108_1, a metal oxide 108_2 over the metal oxide 108_1, and a metal oxide 108_3 over the metal oxide 108_2.

For example, as the metal oxide 108_2 included in the metal oxide 108, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention can be used.

As shown in the region P3 in FIG. 7D, the top surface and the side surface of the metal oxide 108 are in contact with the conductive film 112 a; thus, contact resistance can be reduced. In addition, the metal oxide 108_2 included in the metal oxide 108 has the CAC composition in FIG. 1, and the region 002 included in the CAC composition, that is, a region with high conductivity is in contact with the conductive film 112 a; thus, the contact resistance can be further reduced. Even if a metal oxide having low conductivity, for example, an oxide with a wide band gap (e.g., Eg is larger than or equal to 3.3 eV) is used as the metal oxide 108_1 and the metal oxide 108_3, the side surface of the metal oxide 108_2 is in contact with the conductive film 112 a, whereby the contact resistance can be reduced. Although not illustrated, a connection between the metal oxide 108 and the conductive film 112 b is similar to that in the region P3.

Then, description is made with reference to FIGS. 8A to 8D.

FIGS. 8A to 8C are a top view and cross-sectional views of a transistor 100D, which is a modification example of the transistor 100A in FIGS. 5A to 5C. FIG. 8D is an enlarged cross-sectional conceptual view of a region P4 illustrated in FIG. 8B.

In the transistor 100D in FIGS. 8A to 8C, the metal oxide 108, which is also included in the transistor 100A in FIGS. 5A to 5C, has a three-layer structure. Specifically, the metal oxide 108 included in the transistor 100D includes the metal oxide 108_1, the metal oxide 108_2 over the metal oxide 108_1, and the metal oxide 108_3 over the metal oxide 108_2.

For example, as the metal oxide 108_2 included in the metal oxide 108, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention can be used. As shown in the region P4 in FIG. 8D, the top surface and the side surface of the metal oxide 108 are in contact with the conductive film 112 a; thus, contact resistance can be reduced. In addition, the metal oxide 108_2 included in the metal oxide 108 has the CAC composition in FIG. 1, and the region 002 included in the CAC composition, that is, a region with high conductivity is in contact with the conductive film 112 a; thus, the contact resistance can be further reduced.

In addition, the position of the metal oxide 108_3 in the transistor 100D is different from that in the transistor 100C, and the metal oxide 108_3 included in the transistor 100D is formed over the conductive films 112 a and 112 b which function as a source electrode and a drain electrode. The metal oxide 108_3 is positioned over the conductive films 112 a and 112 b, whereby the contact resistance between the metal oxide 108_2 and the conductive films 112 a and 112 b can be further reduced.

As illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6D, FIGS. 7A to 7D, and FIGS. 8A to 8D, in the transistor of one embodiment of the present invention, the metal oxide preferably has a stacked-layer structure.

<2-3. Band Structure>

Next, band structures of the metal oxide 108 which has a stacked-layer structure are described with reference to FIGS. 16A and 16B.

FIGS. 16A and 16B show a band structure of the insulating film 104, the metal oxides 108_1, 108_2, and 108_3, and the insulating film 114 and a band structure of the insulating film 104, the metal oxides 108_2 and 108_3, and the insulating film 114, respectively.

FIG. 16A shows an example of a band structure in the thickness direction of a stack including the insulating film 104, the metal oxides 108_1, 108_2, and 108_3, and the insulating film 114. FIG. 16B shows an example of a band structure in the thickness direction of a stack including the insulating film 104, the metal oxides 108_2 and 108_3, and the insulating film 114. For easy understanding, the band structures show the energy levels of the conduction band minimums (Ec) of the insulating film 104, the metal oxides 108_1, 108_2, and 108_3, and the insulating film 114.

As illustrated in FIG. 16A, the energy level of the conduction band minimum gradually varies between the metal oxides 108_1, 108_2, and 108_3. As illustrated in FIG. 16B, the energy level of the conduction band minimum gradually varies between the metal oxides 108_2 and 108_3. In other words, the energy level of the conduction band minimum is continuously changed or continuously connected. To obtain such a band structure, there exists no impurity which forms a defect state such as a trap center or a recombination center at the interface between the metal oxides 108_1 and 108_2 and the interface between the metal oxides 108_2 and 108_3.

To form a continuous junction between the metal oxides 108_1, 108_2, and 108_3, it is necessary to form the films successively without exposure to the air by using a multi-chamber deposition apparatus (sputtering apparatus) provided with a load lock chamber.

With the band structure of FIG. 16A or FIG. 16B, the metal oxide 108_2 serves as a well, and a channel region is formed in the metal oxide 108_2 in the transistor with the stacked-layer structure.

As the metal oxide 108_2, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention can be used. In FIGS. 16A and 16B, the band structures of the metal oxide 108_2 each have a flat shape; however, the metal oxide 108_2 may have any of the band structures in FIGS. 3A to 3C described in Embodiment 1.

The metal oxides 108_1 and 108_3 are provided, whereby trap states which can be formed in the metal oxide 108_2 can be provided in the metal oxide 108_1 or 108_3. Thus, it is difficult to form the trap states in the metal oxide 108_2.

In addition, the trap states might be more distant from the vacuum level than the energy level of the conduction band minimum (Ec) of the metal oxide 108_2 functioning as a channel region, so that electrons are likely to be accumulated in the trap states. When the electrons are accumulated in the trap states, the electrons become negative fixed charges, so that the threshold voltage of the transistor is shifted in the positive direction. Therefore, it is preferable that the trap states be closer to the vacuum level than the energy level of the conduction band minimum (Ec) of the metal oxide 108_2. Such a structure inhibits accumulation of electrons in the trap states. As a result, the on-state current and the field-effect mobility of the transistor can be increased.

The energy level of the conduction band minimum of each of the metal oxides 108_1 and 108_3 is closer to the vacuum level than that of the metal oxide 108_2. A typical difference between the energy level of the conduction band minimum of the metal oxide 108_2 and the energy level of the conduction band minimum of each of the metal oxides 108_1 and 108_3 is 0.15 eV or more or 0.5 eV or more and 2 eV or less or 1 eV or less. That is, the difference between the electron affinity of each of the metal oxides 108_1 and 108_3 and the electron affinity of the metal oxide 108_2 is 0.15 eV or more or 0.5 eV or more and 2 eV or less or 1 eV or less.

In such a structure, the metal oxide 108_2 serves as a main path of a current. In other words, the metal oxide 108_2 serves as a channel region, and the metal oxides 108_1 and 108_3 serve as oxide insulating films. It is preferable that the metal oxides 108_1 and 108_3 each include one or more metal elements and the element M constituting a part of the metal oxide 108_2 in which a channel region is formed. With such a structure, interface scattering hardly occurs at the interface between the metal oxide 108_1 and the metal oxide 108_2 and at the interface between the metal oxide 108_2 and the metal oxide 108_3. Thus, the transistor can have high field-effect mobility because the movement of carriers is not hindered at the interface.

To prevent each of the metal oxides 108_1 and 108_3 from functioning as part of a channel region, a material having sufficiently low conductivity is used for the metal oxides 108_1 and 108_3. Thus, the metal oxides 108_1 and 108_3 can be referred to as oxide insulating films for such properties and/or functions. Alternatively, a material that has a smaller electron affinity (a difference between the vacuum level and the energy level of the conduction band minimum) than the metal oxide 108_2 and has a difference in the energy level of the conduction band minimum from the metal oxide 108_2 (band offset) is used for the metal oxides 108_1 and 108_3. Furthermore, to inhibit generation of a difference in threshold voltage due to the value of the drain voltage, it is preferable to form the metal oxides 108_1 and 108_3 using a material whose energy level of the conduction band minimum is closer to the vacuum level than that of the metal oxide 108_2. For example, a difference between the energy level of the conduction band minimum of the metal oxide 108_2 and the energy level of the conduction band minimum of each of the metal oxides 108_1 and 108_3 is preferably greater than or equal to 0.2 eV, further preferably greater than or equal to 0.5 eV.

It is preferable that the metal oxides 108_1 and 108_3 not have a spinel crystal structure. This is because if the metal oxides 108_1 and 108_3 have a spinel crystal structure, constituent elements of the conductive films 120 a and 120 b might be diffused into the metal oxide 108_2 at the interface between the spinel crystal structure and another region. Note that each of the metal oxides 108_1 and 108_3 is preferably a CAAC-OS film, in which case a higher blocking property against constituent elements of the conductive films 120 a and 120 b, for example, copper elements, can be obtained.

The metal oxides 108_1 and 108_3 can be formed using a metal oxide target having an atomic ratio of In:Ga:Zn=1:1:1, In:Ga:Zn=1:3:4, In:Ga:Zn=1:3:6, or the like.

<2-4. Structure Example 3 of Semiconductor Device>

Next, a transistor having a structure different from those of the transistors described above is described with reference to FIGS. 9A to 9D.

FIG. 9A is a top view of a transistor 200A that is a semiconductor device of one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view taken along dashed-dotted line X1-X2 in FIG. 9A. FIG. 9C is a cross-sectional view taken along dashed-dotted line Y1-Y2 in FIG. 9A. FIG. 9D is an enlarged cross-sectional conceptual view of a region P5 illustrated in FIG. 9B.

The transistor 200A illustrated in FIGS. 9A to 9C has what is called a top-gate structure.

The transistor 200A includes a conductive film 206 over a substrate 202, an insulating film 204 over the substrate 202 and the conductive film 206, a metal oxide 208 over the insulating film 204, an insulating film 210 over the metal oxide 208, a conductive film 212 over the insulating film 210, and an insulating film 216 over the insulating film 204, the metal oxide 208, and the conductive film 212.

As the metal oxide 208, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention is preferably used.

The metal oxide 208 includes a region 208 i overlapping with the conductive film 212 and being in contact with the insulating film 210 and regions 208 n overlapping with the insulating film 216. The regions 208 n each include a region having a higher carrier density than the region 208 i. That is, the metal oxide 208 includes a plurality of regions having different carrier densities. In addition, the regions 208 n can be referred to as a source region and a drain region.

Here, a connection between the region 208 i and the region 208 n is described with reference to FIG. 9D.

As illustrated in the region P5 in FIG. 9D, a side surface of the region 208 i is in contact with a side surface of the region 208 n; thus, contact resistance can be reduced. In addition, the region 208 i of the metal oxide 208 has the CAC composition in FIG. 1, and the region 002 included in the CAC composition, i.e., a region with high conductivity is in contact with the region 208 n, i.e., the source region; thus, contact resistance can be further reduced. Although not illustrated, a connection between the other side surface of the region 208 i and a side surface of the region 208 n is similar to that in the region P5.

The metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention includes a highly conductive region and the contact resistance between the metal oxide and the source region or the drain region is reduced. Thus, the field-effect mobility of the transistor including the metal oxide can be increased.

The regions 208 n are also in contact with the insulating film 216. The insulating film 216 contains nitrogen or hydrogen. Thus, nitrogen or hydrogen in the insulating film 216 is added to the regions 208 n. The regions 208 n have an increased carrier density owing to the addition of nitrogen or hydrogen from the insulating film 216.

The transistor 200A may further include an insulating film 218 over the insulating film 216, a conductive film 220 a electrically connected to the region 208 n through an opening 241 a provided in the insulating films 216 and 218, and a conductive film 220 b electrically connected to the region 208 n through an opening 241 b provided in the insulating films 216 and 218.

As illustrated in FIG. 9C, an opening 243 is provided in the insulating films 204 and 210. The conductive film 206 is electrically connected to the conductive film 212 through the opening 243. Thus, the same potential is applied to the conductive film 206 and the conductive film 212. Different potentials may be applied to the conductive film 206 and the conductive film 212 without providing the opening 243.

Note that the conductive film 206 functions as a first gate electrode (also referred to as a bottom-gate electrode), the conductive film 212 functions as a second gate electrode (also referred to as a top-gate electrode), the insulating film 204 functions as a first gate insulating film, and the insulating film 210 functions as a second gate insulating film.

In this manner, the transistor 200A in FIGS. 9A to 9C has a structure in which conductive films functioning as gate electrodes are provided over and under the metal oxide 208. As in the transistor 200A, a semiconductor device of one embodiment of the present invention may have two or more gate electrodes.

As illustrated in FIG. 9C, the metal oxide 208 faces the conductive film 206 functioning as a first gate electrode and the conductive film 212 functioning as a second gate electrode and is positioned between the two conductive films functioning as the gate electrodes.

Furthermore, the length of the conductive film 212 in the channel width direction is larger than the length of the metal oxide 208 in the channel width direction. In the channel width direction, the whole metal oxide 208 is covered with the conductive film 212 with the insulating film 210 provided therebetween. Since the conductive film 212 is connected to the conductive film 206 through the opening 243 provided in the insulating films 204 and 210, a side surface of the metal oxide 208 in the channel width direction faces the conductive film 212 with the insulating film 210 provided therebetween.

In other words, in the channel width direction of the transistor 200A, the conductive films 206 and 212 are connected to each other through the opening 243 provided in the insulating films 204 and 210, and the conductive films 206 and 212 surround the metal oxide 208 with the insulating films 204 and 210 positioned therebetween. That is, the transistor 200A has the S-channel structure described above.

<2-5. Structure Example 4 of Semiconductor Device>

Next, modification examples of the transistor 200A shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C are described with reference to FIGS. 10A to 10D, FIGS. 11A to 11D, and FIGS. 12A to 12D.

First, description is made with reference to FIGS. 10A to 10D.

FIGS. 10A to 10C are a top view and cross-sectional views of a transistor 200B, which is a modification example of the transistor 200A in FIGS. 9A to 9C. FIG. 10D is an enlarged cross-sectional conceptual view of a region P6 illustrated in FIG. 10B.

In the transistor 200B in FIGS. 10A to 10C, the metal oxide 208, which is also included in the transistor 200A in FIGS. 9A to 9C, has a two-layer structure. Specifically, the metal oxide 208 of the transistor 200B includes a region 208 i_1, a region 208 i_2 over the region 208 i_1, and regions 208 n overlapping with the insulating film 216.

For example, for the region 208 i 2 included in the metal oxide 208, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention can be used.

As illustrated in the region P6 in FIG. 10D, a side surface of the region 208 i_2 is in contact with a side surface of the region 208 n; thus, contact resistance can be reduced. In addition, the region 208 i_2 of the metal oxide 208 has the CAC composition in FIG. 1, and the region 002 included in the CAC composition, i.e., a region with high conductivity is in contact with the region 208 n, i.e., the source region; thus, contact resistance can be further reduced. Although not illustrated, a connection between the other side surface of the region 208 i_2 and a side surface of the region 208 n is similar to that in the region P6.

Next, description is made with reference to FIGS. 11A to 11D.

FIGS. 11A to 11C are a top view and cross-sectional views of a transistor 200C, which is a modification example of the transistor 200A in FIGS. 9A to 9C. FIG. 11D is an enlarged cross-sectional conceptual view of a region P7 illustrated in FIG. 11B.

In the transistor 200C in FIGS. 11A to 11C, the metal oxide 208, which is also included in the transistor 200A in FIGS. 9A to 9C, has a three-layer structure. Specifically, the metal oxide 208 of the transistor 200C includes the region 208 i_1, the region 208 i 2 over the region 208 i_1, a region 208 i_3 over the region 208 i_2, and the regions 208 n overlapping with the insulating film 216.

For example, for the region 208 i_2 included in the metal oxide 208, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention can be used.

As illustrated in the region P7 in FIG. 11D, a side surface of the region 208 i_2 is in contact with a side surface of the region 208 n; thus, contact resistance can be reduced. In addition, the region 208 i_2 of the metal oxide 208 has the CAC composition in FIG. 1, and the region 002 included in the CAC composition, i.e., a region with high conductivity is in contact with the region 208 n, i.e., the source region; thus, contact resistance can be further reduced. Although not illustrated, a connection between the other side surface of the region 208 i 2 and a side surface of the region 208 n is similar to that in the region P7.

Next, description is made with reference to FIGS. 12A to 12D.

FIGS. 12A to 12C are a top view and cross-sectional views of a transistor 200D, which is a modification example of the transistor 200A in FIGS. 9A to 9C. FIG. 12D is an enlarged cross-sectional conceptual view of a region P8 illustrated in FIG. 12B.

In the transistor 200D in FIGS. 12A to 12C, the metal oxide 208, which is also included in the transistor 200A in FIGS. 9A to 9C, has a three-layer structure. Specifically, the metal oxide 208 of the transistor 200D includes the region 208 i_1, the region 208 i_2 over the region 208 i_1, the region 208 i_3 over the region 208 i_2, and the regions 208 n overlapping with the insulating film 216.

For example, as the region 208 i_2 included in the metal oxide 208, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention can be used. As illustrated in the region P8, a side surface of the region 208 i_2 is in contact with a side surface of the region 208 n; thus, contact resistance can be reduced. In addition, the region 208 i_2 of the metal oxide 208 has the CAC composition in FIG. 1, and the region 002 included in the CAC composition, i.e., a region with high conductivity is in contact with the region 208 n, i.e., the source region; thus, contact resistance can be further reduced. Although not illustrated, a connection between the other side surface of the region 208 i_2 and a side surface of the region 208 n is similar to that in the region P8.

The metal oxide 208 included in the transistor 200D is different from the metal oxide 208 included in the transistor 200C in the shape of the region 208 i_3. Specifically, in the metal oxide 208 included in the transistor 200D, side surfaces of the region 208 i_1 and side surfaces of the region 208 i_2 are covered with the region 2080. With the shape, the side surfaces of the region 208 i_1 and the side surfaces of the region 208 i_2 are not in contact with the insulating film 210. With the structure, the impurities can be prevented from entering the regions 208 i_1 and 208 i_2, particularly the region 208 i_2; thus, a highly reliable semiconductor device can be provided.

As illustrated in FIGS. 10A to 10D, FIGS. 11A to 11D, and FIGS. 12A to 12D, in the transistor of one embodiment of the present invention, the metal oxide preferably has a stacked-layer structure. Note that for the band structure of the metal oxide which has a stacked-layer structure, <2-3. Band structure> can be referred to.

<2-6. Components of Semiconductor Device>

Components of the semiconductor devices of this embodiment will be described below in detail.

[Substrate]

There is no particular limitation on a material and the like of the substrates 102 and 202 as long as the material has heat resistance high enough to withstand at least heat treatment to be performed later. For example, a glass substrate, a ceramic substrate, a quartz substrate, a sapphire substrate, or the like may be used as the substrates 102 and 202. Alternatively, a single crystal semiconductor substrate or a polycrystalline semiconductor substrate made of silicon or silicon carbide, a compound semiconductor substrate made of silicon germanium or the like, an SOI substrate, or the like can be used as the substrates 102 and 202. Further alternatively, any of these substrates provided with a semiconductor element may be used as the substrates 102 and 202. In the case where a glass substrate is used as the substrates 102 and 202, a large-area glass substrate having any of the following sizes can be used: the 6th generation (1500 mm×1850 mm), the 7th generation (1870 mm×2200 mm), the 8th generation (2200 mm×2400 mm), the 9th generation (2400 mm×2800 mm), and the 10th generation (2950 mm×3400 mm). Thus, a large-sized display device can be manufactured.

Alternatively, a flexible substrate may be used as the substrates 102 and 202, and the transistor may be provided directly on the flexible substrate. Further alternatively, a separation layer may be provided between the transistor and the substrate 102 or 202. The separation layer can be used when part or the whole of a semiconductor device formed over the separation layer is completed and is then separated from the substrate 102 or 202 and transferred to another substrate. In such a case, the transistor can be transferred to a substrate having low heat resistance or a flexible substrate as well.

[Conductive Film]

The conductive films 106 and 206 each functioning as a first gate electrode, the conductive films 112 a and 220 a each functioning as a source electrode, the conductive films 112 b and 220 b each functioning as a drain electrode, the conductive film 112 c functioning as a connection electrode, the conductive films 120 a and 212 each functioning as a second gate electrode, and the conductive film 120 b functioning as a pixel electrode can each be formed using a metal element selected from chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), gold (Au), silver (Ag), zinc (Zn), molybdenum (Mo), tantalum (Ta), titanium (Ti), tungsten (W), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), and cobalt (Co); an alloy including any of these metal elements as its component; an alloy including a combination of any of these metal elements; or the like.

Furthermore, the conductive films 106, 112 a, 112 b, 112 c, 120 a, 120 b, 206, 220 a, 220 b, and 212 can be formed using an oxide conductor such as an oxide including indium and tin, an oxide including tungsten and indium, an oxide including tungsten, indium, and zinc, an oxide including titanium and indium, an oxide including titanium, indium, and tin, an oxide including indium and zinc, an oxide including silicon, indium, and tin, or an oxide including indium, gallium, and zinc.

In particular, the above-described oxide conductor can be favorably used for the conductive films 120 a and 212. Note that in this specification and the like, the oxide conductor may be referred to as OC. For example, the oxide conductor is obtained in the following manner. Oxygen vacancies are formed in an oxide semiconductor, and then hydrogen is added to the oxygen vacancies, so that a donor level is formed in the vicinity of the conduction band. As a result, the conductivity of the oxide semiconductor is increased, so that the oxide semiconductor becomes a conductor. An oxide semiconductor having become a conductor can be referred to as an oxide conductor. Oxide semiconductors generally have a visible light transmitting property because of their large energy gap. An oxide conductor is an oxide semiconductor having a donor level in the vicinity of the conduction band. Therefore, the influence of absorption due to the donor level on an oxide conductor is small, and the oxide conductor has a visible light transmitting property comparable to that of an oxide semiconductor.

A Cu—X alloy film (X is Mn, Ni, Cr, Fe, Co, Mo, Ta, or Ti) may be used as the conductive films 106, 112 a, 112 b, 112 c, 120 a, 120 b, 206, 220 a, 220 b, and 212. Use of a Cu—X alloy film enables the manufacturing cost to be reduced because a wet etching process can be used in the processing.

In particular, the above-described Cu—X alloy film can be favorably used as the conductive films 112 a, 112 b, 220 a, and 220 b. Specifically, the Cu—X alloy film is preferably a Cu—Mn alloy film.

[Insulating Film Functioning as First Gate Insulating Film]

As the insulating films 104 and 204 each functioning as a first gate insulating film of the transistor, an insulating layer including at least one of the following films formed by a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method, a sputtering method, or the like can be used: a silicon oxide film, a silicon oxynitride film, a silicon nitride oxide film, a silicon nitride film, an aluminum oxide film, a hafnium oxide film, an yttrium oxide film, a zirconium oxide film, a gallium oxide film, a tantalum oxide film, a magnesium oxide film, a lanthanum oxide film, a cerium oxide film, and a neodymium oxide film. Note that an insulating film of a single layer formed using a material selected from the above or an insulating film of two or more layers may be used as the insulating films 104 and 204.

Note that the insulating films that are in contact with the metal oxides 108 and 208 each functioning as a channel region of the transistor are preferably oxide insulating films and further preferably include regions each including oxygen in excess of the stoichiometric composition (excess oxygen regions).

Note that one embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above structure, and a nitride insulating film may be used as the insulating films that are in contact with the metal oxides 108 and 208. In one example, a silicon nitride film is formed and a surface of the silicon nitride film is oxidized by performing oxygen plasma treatment or the like on the surface of the silicon nitride film. In the case where oxygen plasma treatment or the like is performed on the surface of the silicon nitride film, the surface of the silicon nitride film may be oxidized at the atomic level. For this reason, an oxide film might not be observed by cross-sectional observation or the like of the transistor. That is, in the case of performing cross-sectional observation of the transistor, the silicon nitride film and the metal oxide may be observed to be in contact with each other in some cases. In particular, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention described in Embodiment 1 includes a region having a large energy gap; thus, the metal oxide 108 or 208 may be in contact with the silicon nitride film.

Note that the silicon nitride film has a higher dielectric constant than a silicon oxide film and needs a larger thickness for capacitance equivalent to that of the silicon oxide film. Thus, when the silicon nitride film is included as the gate insulating film of the transistor, the thickness of the insulating film can be increased. This makes it possible to suppress a decrease in withstand voltage of the transistor and furthermore to increase the withstand voltage, thereby reducing electrostatic discharge damage to the transistor.

In the case where hafnium oxide is used for the insulating films 104 and 204, the following effect is attained. Hafnium oxide has a higher dielectric constant than silicon oxide and silicon oxynitride. Therefore, by using hafnium oxide, the thicknesses of the insulating films 104 and 204 can be made large as compared with the case where silicon oxide is used; thus, leakage current due to tunnel current can be reduced. That is, it is possible to provide a transistor with a low off-state current. Moreover, hafnium oxide with a crystalline structure has higher dielectric constant than hafnium oxide with an amorphous structure. Therefore, it is preferable to use hafnium oxide with a crystalline structure in order to provide a transistor with a low off state current. Examples of the crystalline structure include a monoclinic crystal structure and a cubic crystal structure. Note that one embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

[Metal Oxide]

As the metal oxides 108 and 208, the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention described in Embodiment 1 can be used.

The energy gap of each of the metal oxides 108 and 208 is 2 eV or more, preferably 2.5 eV or more, further preferably 3 eV or more. With the use of a metal oxide having such a wide energy gap, the off-state current of the transistor can be reduced.

The thickness of each of the metal oxides 108 and 208 is greater than or equal to 3 nm and less than or equal to 200 nm, preferably greater than or equal to 3 nm and less than or equal to 100 nm, further preferably greater than or equal to 3 nm and less than or equal to 50 nm.

Furthermore, in order to obtain required semiconductor characteristics of a transistor, it is preferable that the carrier density, the impurity concentration, the defect density, the atomic ratio of a metal element to oxygen, the density, and the like of each of the metal oxides 108 and 208 be set to be appropriate.

[Insulating Film Functioning as Second Gate Insulating Film]

The insulating films 114, 116 and 210 each function as a second gate insulating film of the transistor. In addition, the insulating films 114, 116, and 210 each have a function of supplying oxygen to the metal oxide 108 or 208. That is, the insulating films 114, 116, and 210 contain oxygen. The insulating film 114 is an insulating film that is permeable to oxygen. The insulating film 114 also functions as a film that relieves damage to the metal oxide 108 at the time of forming the insulating film 116 in a later step.

A silicon oxide film, a silicon oxynitride film, or the like with a thickness greater than or equal to 5 nm and less than or equal to 150 nm, preferably greater than or equal to 5 nm and less than or equal to 50 nm can be used as the insulating film 114.

In addition, it is preferable that the number of defects in the insulating film 114 be small and typically, the spin density corresponding to a signal that appears at g=2.001 due to a dangling bond of silicon be lower than or equal to 3×10¹⁷ spins/cm³ by electron spin resonance (ESR) measurement. This is because if the density of defects in the insulating film 114 is high, oxygen is bonded to the defects and the amount of oxygen that transmits the insulating film 114 is decreased.

Note that all oxygen entering the insulating film 114 from the outside does not move to the outside of the insulating film 114 and some oxygen remains in the insulating film 114. Furthermore, movement of oxygen occurs in the insulating film 114 in some cases in such a manner that oxygen enters the insulating film 114 and oxygen included in the insulating film 114 moves to the outside of the insulating film 114. When an oxide insulating film that can transmit oxygen is formed as the insulating film 114, oxygen released from the insulating film 116 provided over the insulating film 114 can be moved to the metal oxide 108 through the insulating film 114.

Note that the insulating film 114 can be formed using an oxide insulating film having a low density of states due to nitrogen oxide. Note that the density of states due to nitrogen oxide can be formed between the energy of the valence band maximum (Ev_os) and the energy of the conduction band minimum (Ec_os) of the metal oxide. A silicon oxynitride film that releases less nitrogen oxide, an aluminum oxynitride film that releases less nitrogen oxide, or the like can be used as the above oxide insulating film.

Note that a silicon oxynitride film that releases less nitrogen oxide is a film of which the amount of released ammonia is larger than the amount of released nitrogen oxide in thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS); the amount of released ammonia is typically greater than or equal to 1×10¹⁸ cm⁻³ and less than or equal to 5×10¹⁹ cm⁻³. Note that the amount of released ammonia is the amount of ammonia released by heat treatment with which the surface temperature of a film becomes higher than or equal to 50° C. and lower than or equal to 650° C., preferably higher than or equal to 50° C. and lower than or equal to 550° C.

Nitrogen oxide (NO_(x); x is greater than 0 and less than or equal to 2, preferably greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to 2), typically NO₂ or NO, forms levels in the insulating film 114, for example. The level is positioned in the energy gap of the metal oxide 108. Therefore, when nitrogen oxide is diffused to the interface between the insulating film 114 and the metal oxide 108, an electron is in some cases trapped by the level on the insulating film 114 side. As a result, the trapped electron remains in the vicinity of the interface between the insulating film 114 and the metal oxide 108; thus, the threshold voltage of the transistor is shifted in the positive direction.

Nitrogen oxide reacts with ammonia and oxygen in heat treatment. Since nitrogen oxide included in the insulating film 114 reacts with ammonia included in the insulating film 116 in heat treatment, nitrogen oxide included in the insulating film 114 is reduced. Therefore, an electron is hardly trapped at the interface between the insulating film 114 and the metal oxide 108.

By using such an oxide insulating film, the insulating film 114 can reduce the shift in the threshold voltage of the transistor, which leads to a smaller change in the electrical characteristics of the transistor.

Note that in an ESR spectrum at 100 K or lower of the insulating film 114, by heat treatment of a manufacturing process of the transistor, typically heat treatment at a temperature higher than or equal to 300° C. and lower than 350° C., a first signal that appears at a g-factor of greater than or equal to 2.037 and less than or equal to 2.039, a second signal that appears at a g-factor of greater than or equal to 2.001 and less than or equal to 2.003, and a third signal that appears at a g-factor of greater than or equal to 1.964 and less than or equal to 1.966 are observed. The split width of the first and second signals and the split width of the second and third signals that are obtained by ESR measurement using an X-band are each approximately 5 mT. The sum of the spin densities of the first signal that appears at a g-factor of greater than or equal to 2.037 and less than or equal to 2.039, the second signal that appears at a g-factor of greater than or equal to 2.001 and less than or equal to 2.003, and the third signal that appears at a g-factor of greater than or equal to 1.964 and less than or equal to 1.966 is lower than 1×10¹⁸ spins/cm³, typically higher than or equal to 1×10¹⁷ spins/cm³ and lower than 1×10¹⁸ spins/cm³.

In the ESR spectrum at 100 K or lower, the sum of the spin densities of the first signal that appears at a g-factor of greater than or equal to 2.037 and less than or equal to 2.039, the second signal that appears at a g-factor of greater than or equal to 2.001 and less than or equal to 2.003, and the third signal that appears at a g-factor of greater than or equal to 1.964 and less than or equal to 1.966 corresponds to the sum of the spin densities of signals attributed to nitrogen oxide (NO_(x); x is greater than 0 and less than or equal to 2, preferably greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to 2). Typical examples of nitrogen oxide include nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. In other words, the lower the sum of the spin densities of the first signal that appears at a g-factor of greater than or equal to 2.037 and less than or equal to 2.039, the second signal that appears at a g-factor of greater than or equal to 2.001 and less than or equal to 2.003, and the third signal that appears at a g-factor of greater than or equal to 1.964 and less than or equal to 1.966 is, the lower the content of nitrogen oxide in the oxide insulating film is.

The concentration of nitrogen of the above oxide insulating film measured by SIMS is lower than or equal to 6×10²⁰ atoms/cm³.

The above oxide insulating film is formed by a PECVD method at a substrate temperature higher than or equal to 220° C. and lower than or equal to 350° C. using silane and dinitrogen monoxide, whereby a dense and hard film can be formed.

The insulating films 116 and 210 are preferably formed using an oxide insulating film whose oxygen content is higher than that in the stoichiometric composition. Part of oxygen is released by heating from the oxide insulating film whose oxygen content is higher than that in the stoichiometric composition. The oxide insulating film whose oxygen content is higher than that in the stoichiometric composition is an oxide insulating film of which the amount of released oxygen converted into oxygen atoms is greater than or equal to 1.0×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³, preferably greater than or equal to 3.0×10²⁰ atoms/cm³ in TDS. Note that the surface temperature of the film in the TDS is preferably higher than or equal to 100° C. and lower than or equal to 700° C., or higher than or equal to 100° C. and lower than or equal to 500° C.

A silicon oxide film, a silicon oxynitride film, or the like with a thickness greater than or equal to 30 nm and less than or equal to 500 nm, preferably greater than or equal to 50 nm and less than or equal to 400 nm can be used as the insulating films 116 and 210.

It is preferable that the number of defects in the insulating films 116 and 210 be small, and typically the spin density corresponding to a signal that appears at g=2.001 due to a dangling bond of silicon be lower than 1.5×10¹⁸ spins/cm³, preferably lower than or equal to 1×10¹⁸ spins/cm³ by ESR measurement. Note that the insulating film 116 is provided more apart from the metal oxide 108 than the insulating film 114 is; thus, the insulating film 116 may have higher density of defects than the insulating film 114.

Furthermore, the insulating films 114 and 116 can be formed using insulating films formed of the same kinds of materials; thus, a boundary between the insulating films 114 and 116 cannot be clearly observed in some cases. Thus, in this embodiment, the boundary between the insulating films 114 and 116 is shown by a dashed line. Although a two-layer structure of the insulating films 114 and 116 is described in this embodiment, one embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, a single-layer structure of the insulating film 114 or a stacked-layer structure of three or more layers may be used.

[Insulating Film Functioning as Protective Insulating Film]

The insulating films 118 and 216 each function as a protective insulating film for the transistor.

The insulating films 118 and 216 contain either hydrogen or nitrogen, or both. Alternatively, the insulating films 118 and 216 contain nitrogen and silicon. The insulating films 118 and 216 each have a function of blocking oxygen, hydrogen, water, alkali metal, alkaline earth metal, and the like. It is possible to prevent outward diffusion of oxygen from the metal oxides 108 and 208, outward diffusion of oxygen included in the insulating films 114, 116, and 210, and entry of hydrogen, water, or the like into the metal oxides 108 and 208 from the outside by providing the insulating films 118 and 216.

As the insulating films 118 and 216, a nitride insulating film can be used, for example. The nitride insulating film is formed using silicon nitride, silicon nitride oxide, aluminum nitride, aluminum nitride oxide, or the like.

Although the above-described variety of films such as the conductive films, the insulating films, the metal oxide, and the metal film can be formed by a sputtering method or a PECVD method, they may be formed by another method, e.g., a thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Examples of the thermal CVD method include a metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method, an atomic layer deposition (ALD) method, and the like.

The thermal CVD method has an advantage that no defect due to plasma damage is generated since it does not utilize plasma for forming a film.

Deposition by the thermal CVD method may be performed in such a manner that a source gas and an oxidizer are supplied to a chamber at a time while the pressure in the chamber is set to an atmospheric pressure or a reduced pressure, and the source gas and the oxidizer react with each other in the vicinity of the substrate or over the substrate.

Deposition by an ALD method may be performed in such a manner that the pressure in a chamber is set to an atmospheric pressure or a reduced pressure, source gases for reaction are sequentially introduced into the chamber, and then the sequence of the gas introduction is repeated.

The variety of films such as the conductive films, the insulating films, and the metal oxide in this embodiment can be formed by a thermal CVD method such as an MOCVD method or an ALD method.

<2-7. Method for Manufacturing Semiconductor Device>

Next, a method for manufacturing the transistor 200C that is a semiconductor device of one embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to FIGS. 13A to 13D, FIGS. 14A to 14C, and FIGS. 15A to 15C.

FIGS. 13A to 13D, FIGS. 14A to 14C, and FIGS. 15A to 15C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device. In FIGS. 13A to 13D, FIGS. 14A to 14C, and FIGS. 15A to 15C, cross-sectional views in the channel length direction are on the left side, and cross-sectional views in the channel width direction are on the right side.

First, the conductive film 206 is formed over the substrate 202. Next, the insulating film 204 is formed over the substrate 202 and the conductive film 206, and a first metal oxide, a second metal oxide, and a third metal oxide are formed over the insulating film 204. Then, the first metal oxide, the second metal oxide, and the third metal oxide are processed into an island shape, whereby a metal oxide 208_1 a, a metal oxide 208_2 a, and a metal oxide 208_3 a are formed (see FIG. 13A).

The conductive film 206 can be formed using a material selected from the above-mentioned materials. In this embodiment, for the conductive film 206, a stack including a 50-nm-thick tungsten film and a 400-nm-thick copper film is formed with a sputtering apparatus.

To process a conductive film to be the conductive film 206, a wet etching method and/or a dry etching method can be used. In this embodiment, in the processing of the conductive film into the conductive film 206, the copper film is etched by a wet etching method, and then the tungsten film is etched by a dry etching method.

The insulating film 204 can be formed by a sputtering method, a CVD method, an evaporation method, a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method, a printing method, a coating method, or the like as appropriate. In this embodiment, as the insulating film 204, a 400-nm-thick silicon nitride film and a 50-nm-thick silicon oxynitride film are formed with a PECVD apparatus.

After the insulating film 204 is formed, oxygen may be added to the insulating film 204. As oxygen added to the insulating film 204, an oxygen radical, an oxygen atom, an oxygen atomic ion, an oxygen molecular ion, or the like may be used. Oxygen can be added by an ion doping method, an ion implantation method, a plasma treatment method, or the like. Alternatively, a film that suppresses oxygen release may be formed over the insulating film 204, and then oxygen may be added to the insulating film 204 through the film.

The film that suppresses oxygen release can be formed using a conductive film or a semiconductor film containing one or more of indium, zinc, gallium, tin, aluminum, chromium, tantalum, titanium, molybdenum, nickel, iron, cobalt, and tungsten.

In the case where oxygen is added by plasma treatment in which oxygen is excited by a microwave to generate high-density oxygen plasma, the amount of oxygen added to the insulating film 204 can be increased.

The metal oxide 208_1 a, the metal oxide 208_2 a, and the metal oxide 208_3 a are preferably formed successively in a vacuum using a sputtering apparatus. By successive formation of the metal oxide 208_1 a, the metal oxide 208_2 a, and the metal oxide 208_3 a in a vacuum using a sputtering apparatus, impurities (such as hydrogen and water) that can be attached to each interface can be reduced.

The metal oxide 208_2 a is preferably formed with a lower oxygen partial pressure than the metal oxide 208_1 a and/or the metal oxide 208_3 a.

In forming the metal oxide 208_1 a, the metal oxide 208_2 a, and the metal oxide 208_3 a, an inert gas (such as a helium gas, an argon gas, or a xenon gas) may be mixed into the oxygen gas. Note that the proportion of the oxygen gas in the whole deposition gas (hereinafter also referred to as oxygen flow rate ratio) in forming the metal oxide 208_1 a is higher than or equal to 70% and lower than or equal to 100%, preferably higher than or equal to 80% and lower than or equal to 100%, further preferably higher than or equal to 90% and lower than or equal to 100%. The oxygen flow rate ratio in forming the metal oxide 208_2 a is higher than 0% and lower than or equal to 30%, preferably higher than or equal to 5% and lower than or equal to 15%. The oxygen flow rate ratio in forming the metal oxide 208_3 a is higher than or equal to 70% and lower than or equal to 100%, preferably higher than or equal to 80% and lower than or equal to 100%, farther preferably higher than or equal to 90% and lower than or equal to 100%.

Note that the metal oxide 208_2 a may be formed at a lower substrate temperature than the metal oxide 208_1 a and/or the metal oxide 208_3 a.

Specifically, the metal oxide 208_2 a is formed at a substrate temperature higher than or equal to room temperature and lower than 150° C., preferably higher than or equal to room temperature and lower than or equal to 140° C. In addition, the metal oxide 208_1 a and the metal oxide 208_3 a are formed at a substrate temperature higher than or equal to room temperature and lower than or equal to 300° C., preferably higher than or equal to room temperature and lower than or equal to 200° C. Note that the substrate temperatures when the metal oxides 208_1 a, 208_2 a, and 208_3 a are formed are preferably the same (e.g., higher than or equal to room temperature and lower than 150° C.) because the productivity is increased.

Under the above-described conditions, the metal oxide 208_2 a can have a region with lower crystallinity than the metal oxides 208_1 a and 208_3 a.

The thickness of the metal oxide 208_1 a is greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than 20 nm, preferably greater than or equal to 5 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm. The thickness of the metal oxide 208_2 a is greater than or equal to 20 nm and less than or equal to 100 nm, preferably greater than or equal to 20 nm and less than or equal to 50 nm. The thickness of the metal oxide 208_3 a is greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than 20 nm, preferably greater than or equal to 5 nm and less than or equal to 15 nm.

Note that the metal oxide 208_1 a, the metal oxide 208_2 a, and the metal oxide 208_3 a are formed while being heated, so that the crystallinity of the metal oxide 208_1 a, the metal oxide 208_2 a, and the metal oxide 208_3 a can be increased. On the other hand, in the case where a large-sized glass substrate (e.g., the 6th generation to the 10th generation) is used as the substrate 202 and the metal oxide 208_1 a, the metal oxide 208_2 a, and the metal oxide 208_3 a are formed at a substrate temperature higher than or equal to 200° C. and lower than or equal to 300° C., the substrate 202 might be changed in shape (distorted or warped). Therefore, in the case where a large-sized glass substrate is used, the change in the shape of the glass substrate can be suppressed by forming the metal oxide 208_1 a, the metal oxide 208_2 a, and the metal oxide 208_3 a at a substrate temperature higher than or equal to 100° C. and lower than 200° C.

In addition, increasing the purity of the sputtering gas is necessary. For example, when a gas which is highly purified to have a dew point of −40° C. or lower, preferably −80° C. or lower, further preferably −100° C. or lower, still further preferably −120° C. or lower, is used as the sputtering gas, i.e., the oxygen gas or the argon gas, entry of moisture or the like into the metal oxide can be minimized.

In the case where the metal oxide is deposited by a sputtering method, a chamber in a sputtering apparatus is preferably evacuated to be a high vacuum state (to the degree of about 5×10⁻⁷ Pa to 1×10⁻⁴ Pa) with an adsorption vacuum evacuation pump such as a cryopump in order to remove water or the like, which serves as an impurity for the metal oxide, as much as possible. In particular, the partial pressure of gas molecules corresponding to H₂O (gas molecules corresponding to m/z=18) in the chamber in the standby mode of the sputtering apparatus is preferably lower than or equal to 1×10⁻⁴ Pa, further preferably lower than or equal to 5×10⁻⁵ Pa.

To process the first metal oxide, the second metal oxide, and the third metal oxide into the metal oxide 208_1 a, the metal oxide 208_2 a, and the metal oxide 208_3 a, a wet etching method and/or a dry etching method can be used.

After the metal oxide 208_1 a, the metal oxide 208_2 a, and the metal oxide 208_3 a are formed, the metal oxide 208_1 a, the metal oxide 208_2 a, and the metal oxide 208_3 a may be dehydrated or dehydrogenated by heat treatment. The temperature of the heat treatment is typically higher than or equal to 150° C. and lower than the strain point of the substrate, higher than or equal to 250° C. and lower than or equal to 450° C., or higher than or equal to 300° C. and lower than or equal to 450° C.

The heat treatment can be performed in an inert gas atmosphere containing nitrogen or a rare gas such as helium, neon, argon, xenon, or krypton. Alternatively, the heat treatment may be performed in an inert gas atmosphere first, and then in an oxygen atmosphere. It is preferable that the above inert gas atmosphere and the above oxygen atmosphere not contain hydrogen, water, or the like. The treatment time may be longer than or equal to 3 minutes and shorter than or equal to 24 hours.

An electric furnace, an RTA apparatus, or the like can be used for the heat treatment. With the use of an RTA apparatus, the heat treatment can be performed at a temperature higher than or equal to the strain point of the substrate if the heating time is short. Therefore, the heat treatment time can be shortened.

By depositing the metal oxide while it is heated or by performing heat treatment after the deposition of the metal oxide, the hydrogen concentration in the metal oxide, which is measured by SIMS, can be 5×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³ or lower, 1×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³ or lower, 5×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³ or lower, 1×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³ or lower, 5×10¹⁷ atoms/cm³ or lower, or 1×10¹⁶ atoms/cm³ or lower.

Next, an insulating film 210_0 is formed over the insulating film 204 and the metal oxide 208_3 a (see FIG. 13B).

For the insulating film 210_0, a silicon oxide film, a silicon oxynitride film, or a silicon nitride film can be formed with a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition apparatus (also referred to as a PECVD apparatus or simply a plasma CVD apparatus). In this case, a deposition gas containing silicon and an oxidizing gas are preferably used as a source gas. Typical examples of the deposition gas containing silicon include silane, disilane, trisilane, and silane fluoride. Examples of the oxidizing gas include oxygen, ozone, dinitrogen monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide.

A silicon oxynitride film having few defects can be formed as the insulating film 210_0 with the PECVD apparatus under the conditions that the flow rate of the oxidizing gas is more than 20 times and less than 100 times, or more than or equal to 40 times and less than or equal to 80 times the flow rate of the deposition gas and that the pressure in a treatment chamber is lower than 100 Pa or lower than or equal to 50 Pa.

As the insulating film 210_0, a dense silicon oxide film or a dense silicon oxynitride film can be formed under the following conditions: the substrate placed in a vacuum-evacuated treatment chamber of the PECVD apparatus is held at a temperature higher than or equal to 280° C. and lower than or equal to 400° C.; the pressure in the treatment chamber into which a source gas is introduced is set to be higher than or equal to 20 Pa and lower than or equal to 250 Pa, preferably higher than or equal to 100 Pa and lower than or equal to 250 Pa; and a high-frequency power is supplied to an electrode provided in the treatment chamber.

The insulating film 210_0 may be formed by a PECVD method using a microwave. A microwave refers to a wave in the frequency range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz. In the case of using a microwave, electron temperature and electron energy are low. Furthermore, in supplied power, the proportion of power used for acceleration of electrons is low, and therefore, much more power can be used for dissociation and ionization of molecules. Thus, plasma with a high density (high-density plasma) can be excited. This method causes little plasma damage to the deposition surface or a deposit, so that the insulating film 210_0 having few defects can be formed.

In this embodiment, as the insulating film 210_0, a 100-nm-thick silicon oxynitride film is formed with the PECVD apparatus.

Subsequently, a mask is formed by lithography in a desired position over the insulating film 210_0, and then the insulating film 210_0 and the insulating film 204 are partly etched, so that the opening 243 reaching the conductive film 206 is formed (see FIG. 13C).

To form the opening 243, a wet etching method and/or a dry etching method can be used. In this embodiment, the opening 243 is formed by a dry etching method.

Next, a conductive film 212_0 is formed over the conductive film 206 and the insulating film 210_0 so as to cover the opening 243. In the case where a metal oxide film is used as the conductive film 212_0, for example, oxygen might be added to the insulating film 210_0 during the formation of the conductive film 212_0 (see FIG. 13D).

In FIG. 13D, oxygen added to the insulating film 210_0 is schematically shown by arrows. Furthermore, the conductive film 212_0 formed to cover the opening 243 is electrically connected to the conductive film 206.

In the case where a metal oxide film is used as the conductive film 212_0, the conductive film 212_0 is preferably formed by a sputtering method in an atmosphere containing an oxygen gas. Formation of the conductive film 212_0 in an atmosphere containing an oxygen gas allows suitable addition of oxygen to the insulating film 210_0. Note that a method for forming the conductive film 212_0 is not limited to a sputtering method, and another method such as an ALD method may be used.

In this embodiment, a 100-nm-thick In—Ga—Zn oxide film (In:Ga:Zn=4:2:4.1 (atomic ratio)) is formed as the conductive film 212_0 by a sputtering method. Oxygen addition treatment may be performed on the insulating film 210_0 before or after the formation of the conductive film 212_0. The oxygen addition treatment can be performed similarly to the oxygen addition treatment that can be performed after the formation of the insulating film 204.

Subsequently, a mask 240 is formed by a lithography process in a desired position over the conductive film 212_0 (see FIG. 14A).

Next, etching is performed from above the mask 240 to process the conductive film 212_0 and the insulating film 210_0 After the processing of the conductive film 212_0 and the insulating film 210_0, the mask 240 is removed. As a result of the processing of the conductive film 212_0 and the insulating film 210_0, the island-shaped conductive film 212 and the island-shaped insulating film 210 are formed (see FIG. 14B).

In this embodiment, the conductive film 212_0 and the insulating film 210_0 are processed by a dry etching method.

In the processing of the conductive film 212_0 and the insulating film 210_0, the thickness of the metal oxide 208 in a region not overlapping with the conductive film 212 is decreased in some cases. In other cases, in the processing of the conductive film 212_0 and the insulating film 210_0, the thickness of the insulating film 204 in a region not overlapping with the metal oxide 208 is decreased. In the processing of the conductive film 212_0 and the insulating film 210_0, an etchant or an etching gas (e.g., chlorine) might be added to the metal oxide 208 or the constituent element of the conductive film 212_0 or the insulating film 210_0 might be added to the metal oxide 208.

Next, the insulating film 216 is formed over the insulating film 204, the metal oxide 208, and the conductive film 212. By the formation of the insulating film 216, the metal oxide 208 in contact with the insulating film 216 becomes the regions 208 n. In addition, the region 208 i_1, the region 208 i_2, and the region 208 i_3 are formed in the metal oxide 208 overlapping with the conductive film 212 (see FIG. 14C).

The insulating film 216 can be formed using a material selected from the above-mentioned materials. In this embodiment, as the insulating film 216, a 100-nm-thick silicon nitride oxide film is formed with a PECVD apparatus. In the formation of the silicon nitride oxide film, two steps, i.e., plasma treatment and deposition treatment, are performed at a temperature of 220° C. The plasma treatment is performed under the following conditions: an argon gas at a flow rate of 100 sccm and a nitrogen gas at a flow rate of 1000 sccm are introduced into a chamber before deposition; the pressure in the chamber is set to 40 Pa; and a power of 1000 W is supplied to an RF power source (27.12 MHz). The deposition treatment is performed under the following conditions: a silane gas at a flow rate of 50 sccm, a nitrogen gas at a flow rate of 5000 sccm, and an ammonia gas at a flow rate of 100 sccm are introduced into the chamber; the pressure in the chamber is set to 100 Pa; and a power of 1000 W is supplied to the RF power source (27.12 MHz).

When a silicon nitride oxide film is used as the insulating film 216, nitrogen or hydrogen in the silicon nitride oxide film can be supplied to the regions 208 n in contact with the insulating film 216. In addition, when the formation temperature of the insulating film 216 is the above temperature, release of excess oxygen contained in the insulating film 210 to the outside can be suppressed.

Next, the insulating film 218 is formed over the insulating film 216 (see FIG. 15).

The insulating film 218 can be formed using a material selected from the above-mentioned materials. In this embodiment, as the insulating film 218, a 300-nm-thick silicon oxynitride film is formed with a PECVD apparatus.

Subsequently, a mask is formed by lithography in a desired position over the insulating film 218, and then the insulating film 218 and the insulating film 216 are partly etched, so that the opening 241 a and the opening 241 b reaching the regions 208 n are formed (see FIG. 15B).

To etch the insulating film 218 and the insulating film 216, a wet etching method and/or a dry etching method can be used. In this embodiment, the insulating film 218 and the insulating film 216 are processed by a dry etching method.

Next, a conductive film is formed over the regions 208 n and the insulating film 218 so as to cover the openings 241 a and 241 b, and the conductive film is processed into a desired shape, whereby the conductive films 220 a and 220 b are formed (see FIG. 15C).

The conductive films 220 a and 220 b can be formed using a material selected from the above-mentioned materials. In this embodiment, for the conductive films 220 a and 220 b, a stack including a 50-nm-thick tungsten film and a 400-nm-thick copper film is formed with a sputtering apparatus.

To process the conductive film to be the conductive films 220 a and 220 b, a wet etching method and/or a dry etching method can be used. In this embodiment, in the processing of the conductive film into the conductive films 220 a and 220 b, the copper film is etched by a wet etching method, and then the tungsten film is etched by a dry etching method.

Through the above steps, the transistor 200C in FIGS. 11A to 11C can be manufactured.

Note that the films included in the transistor (the insulating film, the metal oxide, the conductive film, and the like) can be formed by, other than the above methods, a sputtering method, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, a vacuum evaporation method, a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method, or an ALD method. Alternatively, a coating method or a printing method can be used. Although a sputtering method and a PECVD method are typical examples of the deposition method, a thermal CVD method may be used. As an example of a thermal CVD method, a metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method can be given.

Deposition by the thermal CVD method may be performed in such a manner that the pressure in a chamber is set to an atmospheric pressure or a reduced pressure, and a source gas and an oxidizer are supplied to the chamber at a time and react with each other in the vicinity of the substrate or over the substrate. Thus, no plasma is generated in the deposition; therefore, the thermal CVD method has an advantage that no defect due to plasma damage is caused.

Note that the structures and the methods described in this embodiment can be used in appropriate combination with any of the structures and the methods described in the other embodiments.

Embodiment 3

In this embodiment, an example of a display panel which can be used for a display portion or the like in a display device including the semiconductor device of one embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to FIG. 17 and FIG. 18. The display panel described below as an example includes both a reflective liquid crystal element and a light-emitting element and can display an image in both the transmissive mode and the reflective mode. Note that the metal oxide of one embodiment of the present invention and a transistor including the metal oxide can be preferably used in a transistor in a pixel of a display device, a driver for driving the display device, an LSI supplying data to the display device, or the like.

<3-1. Structure Example of Display Panel>

FIG. 17 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a display panel 600 of one embodiment of the present invention. In the display panel 600, a substrate 651 and a substrate 661 are attached to each other. In FIG. 17, the substrate 661 is denoted by a dashed line.

The display panel 600 includes a display portion 662, a circuit 659, a wiring 666, and the like. The substrate 651 is provided with the circuit 659, the wiring 666, a conductive film 663 which serves as a pixel electrode, and the like. In FIG. 17, an IC 673 and an FPC 672 are mounted on the substrate 651. Thus, the structure illustrated in FIG. 17 can be referred to as a display module including the display panel 600, the FPC 672, and the IC 673.

As the circuit 659, for example, a circuit functioning as a scan line driver circuit can be used.

The wiring 666 has a function of supplying a signal or electric power to the display portion 662 or the circuit 659. The signal or electric power is input to the wiring 666 from the outside through the FPC 672 or from the IC 673.

FIG. 17 shows an example in which the IC 673 is provided on the substrate 651 by a chip on glass (COG) method or the like. As the IC 673, an IC functioning as a scan line driver circuit, a signal line driver circuit, or the like can be used. Note that it is possible that the IC 673 is not provided when, for example, the display panel 600 includes circuits serving as a scan line driver circuit and a signal line driver circuit and when the circuits serving as a scan line driver circuit and a signal line driver circuit are provided outside and a signal for driving the display panel 600 is input through the FPC 672. Alternatively, the IC 673 may be mounted on the FPC 672 by a chip on film (COF) method or the like.

FIG. 17 also shows an enlarged view of part of the display portion 662. The conductive films 663 included in a plurality of display elements are arranged in a matrix in the display portion 662. The conductive film 663 has a function of reflecting visible light and serves as a reflective electrode of a liquid crystal element 640 described later.

As illustrated in FIG. 17, the conductive film 663 has an opening. A light-emitting element 660 is positioned closer to the substrate 651 than the conductive film 663 is. Light is emitted from the light-emitting element 660 to the substrate 661 side through the opening in the conductive film 663.

<3-2. Cross-Sectional Structure Example>

FIG. 18 shows an example of cross sections of part of a region including the FPC 672, part of a region including the circuit 659, and part of a region including the display portion 662 of the display panel illustrated in FIG. 17.

The display panel includes an insulating film 620 between the substrates 651 and 661. The display panel also includes the light-emitting element 660, a transistor 601, a transistor 605, a transistor 606, a coloring layer 634, and the like between the substrate 651 and the insulating film 620. Furthermore, the display panel includes the liquid crystal element 640, a coloring layer 631, and the like between the insulating film 620 and the substrate 661. The substrate 661 and the insulating film 620 are bonded with an adhesive layer 641. The substrate 651 and the insulating film 620 are bonded with an adhesive layer 642.

The transistor 606 is electrically connected to the liquid crystal element 640 and the transistor 605 is electrically connected to the light-emitting element 660. Since the transistors 605 and 606 are formed on a surface of the insulating film 620 which is on the substrate 651 side, the transistors 605 and 606 can be formed through the same process.

The substrate 661 is provided with the coloring layer 631, a light-blocking film 632, an insulating film 621, a conductive film 613 serving as a common electrode of the liquid crystal element 640, an alignment film 633 b, an insulating film 617, and the like. The insulating film 617 serves as a spacer for holding a cell gap of the liquid crystal element 640.

Insulating layers such as an insulating film 681, an insulating film 682, an insulating film 683, an insulating film 684, and an insulating film 685 are provided on the substrate 651 side of the insulating film 620. Part of the insulating film 681 functions as a gate insulating layer of each transistor. The insulating films 682, 683, and 684 are provided to cover each transistor. The insulating film 685 is provided to cover the insulating film 684. The insulating films 684 and 685 each function as a planarization layer. Note that an example where the three insulating layers, the insulating films 682, 683, and 684, are provided to cover the transistors and the like is described here; however, one embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this example, and four or more insulating layers, a single insulating layer, or two insulating layers may be provided. The insulating film 684 functioning as a planarization layer is not necessarily provided when not needed.

The transistors 601, 605, and 606 each include a conductive film 654 part of which functions as a gate, a conductive film 652 part of which functions as a source or a drain, and a semiconductor film 653. Here, a plurality of layers obtained by processing the same conductive film are shown with the same hatching pattern.

The liquid crystal element 640 is a reflective liquid crystal element. The liquid crystal element 640 has a stacked structure of a conductive film 635, a liquid crystal layer 612, and the conductive film 613. In addition, the conductive film 663 which reflects visible light is provided in contact with the surface of the conductive film 635 that faces the substrate 651. The conductive film 663 includes an opening 655. The conductive films 635 and 613 contain a material transmitting visible light. In addition, an alignment film 633 a is provided between the liquid crystal layer 612 and the conductive film 635 and the alignment film 633 b is provided between the liquid crystal layer 612 and the conductive film 613. A polarizing plate 656 is provided on an outer surface of the substrate 661.

In the liquid crystal element 640, the conductive film 663 has a function of reflecting visible light and the conductive film 613 has a function of transmitting visible light. Light entering from the substrate 661 side is polarized by the polarizing plate 656, passes through the conductive film 613 and the liquid crystal layer 612, and is reflected by the conductive film 663. Then, the light passes through the liquid crystal layer 612 and the conductive film 613 again and reaches the polarizing plate 656. In this case, alignment of the liquid crystal is controlled with a voltage that is applied between the conductive film 613 and the conductive films 663 and 635, and thus optical modulation of light can be controlled. That is, the intensity of light emitted through the polarizing plate 656 can be controlled. Light excluding light in a particular wavelength region is absorbed by the coloring layer 631, and thus, emitted light is red light, for example.

The light-emitting element 660 is a bottom-emission light-emitting element. The light-emitting element 660 has a structure in which a conductive film 643, an EL layer 644, and a conductive film 645 b are stacked in this order from the insulating film 620 side. In addition, a conductive film 645 a is provided to cover the conductive film 645 b. The conductive film 645 b contains a material reflecting visible light, and the conductive films 643 and 645 a contain a material transmitting visible light. Light is emitted from the light-emitting element 660 to the substrate 661 side through the coloring layer 634, the insulating film 620, the opening 655, the conductive film 613, and the like.

Here, as illustrated in FIG. 18, the conductive film 635 transmitting visible light is preferably provided for the opening 655. Accordingly, the liquid crystal is aligned in a region overlapping with the opening 655 as well as in the other regions, in which case an alignment defect of the liquid crystal is prevented from being generated in the boundary portion of these regions and undesired light leakage can be suppressed.

As the polarizing plate 656 provided on an outer surface of the substrate 661, a linear polarizing plate or a circularly polarizing plate can be used. An example of a circularly polarizing plate is a stack including a linear polarizing plate and a quarter-wave retardation plate. Such a structure can reduce reflection of external light. The cell gap, alignment, drive voltage, and the like of the liquid crystal element used as the liquid crystal element 640 are controlled depending on the kind of the polarizing plate so that desirable contrast is obtained.

In addition, an insulating film 647 is provided in contact with part of the insulating film 646 covering an end portion of the conductive film 643. The insulating film 647 has a function as a spacer for preventing the insulating film 620 and the substrate 651 from getting closer more than necessary. In the case where the EL layer 644 or the conductive film 645 a is formed using a blocking mask (metal mask), the insulating film 647 may have a function of preventing the blocking mask from being in contact with a surface on which the EL layer 644 or the conductive film 645 a is formed. Note that the insulating film 647 is not necessarily provided when not needed.

One of a source and a drain of the transistor 605 is electrically connected to the conductive film 643 of the light-emitting element 660 through a conductive film 648.

One of a source and a drain of the transistor 606 is electrically connected to the conductive film 663 through a connection portion 607. The conductive films 663 and 635 are in contact with and electrically connected to each other. Here, in the connection portion 607, the conductive layers provided on both surfaces of the insulating film 620 are connected to each other through an opening in the insulating film 620.

A connection portion 604 is provided in a region of the substrate 651 that does not overlap with the substrate 661. The connection portion 604 is electrically connected to the FPC 672 through a connection layer 649. The connection portion 604 has a structure similar to that of the connection portion 607. On the top surface of the connection portion 604, a conductive layer obtained by processing the same conductive film as the conductive film 635 is exposed. Thus, the connection portion 604 and the FPC 672 can be electrically connected to each other through the connection layer 649.

A connection portion 687 is provided in part of a region where the adhesive layer 641 is provided. In the connection portion 687, the conductive layer obtained by processing the same conductive film as the conductive film 635 is electrically connected to part of the conductive film 613 with a connector 686. Accordingly, a signal or a potential input from the FPC 672 connected to the substrate 651 side can be supplied to the conductive film 613 formed on the substrate 661 side through the connection portion 687.

As the connector 686, a conductive particle can be used, for example. As the conductive particle, a particle of an organic resin, silica, or the like coated with a metal material can be used. It is preferable to use nickel or gold as the metal material because contact resistance can be reduced. It is also preferable to use a particle coated with layers of two or more kinds of metal materials, such as a particle coated with nickel and further with gold. As the connector 686, a material capable of elastic deformation or plastic deformation is preferably used. As illustrated in FIG. 18, the connector 686 which is the conductive particle has a shape that is vertically crushed in some cases. With the crushed shape, the contact area between the connector 686 and a conductive layer electrically connected to the connector 686 can be increased, thereby reducing contact resistance and suppressing the generation of problems such as disconnection.

The connector 686 is preferably provided so as to be covered with the adhesive layer 641. For example, the connectors 686 are dispersed in the adhesive layer 641 before curing of the adhesive layer 641.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example of the circuit 659 in which the transistor 601 is provided.

The structure in which the semiconductor film 653 where a channel is formed is provided between two gates is used as an example of the transistors 601 and 605 in FIG. 18. One gate is formed using the conductive film 654 and the other gate is formed using a conductive film 623 overlapping with the semiconductor film 653 with the insulating film 682 provided therebetween. Such a structure enables control of threshold voltages of a transistor. In that case, the two gates may be connected to each other and supplied with the same signal to operate the transistor. Such a transistor can have higher field-effect mobility and thus have higher on-state current than other transistors. Consequently, a circuit capable of high-speed operation can be obtained. Furthermore, the area occupied by a circuit portion can be reduced. The use of the transistor having high on-state current can reduce signal delay in wirings and can reduce display unevenness even in a display panel in which the number of wirings is increased because of increase in size or resolution.

Note that the transistor included in the circuit 659 and the transistor included in the display portion 662 may have the same structure. A plurality of transistors included in the circuit 659 may have the same structure or different structures. A plurality of transistors included in the display portion 662 may have the same structure or different structures.

A material through which impurities such as water and hydrogen do not easily diffuse is preferably used for at least one of the insulating films 682 and 683 which cover the transistors. That is, the insulating film 682 or the insulating film 683 can function as a barrier film. Such a structure can effectively suppress diffusion of the impurities into the transistors from the outside, and a highly reliable display panel can be provided.

The insulating film 621 is provided on the substrate 661 side to cover the coloring layer 631 and the light-blocking film 632. The insulating film 621 may have a function as a planarization layer. The insulating film 621 enables the conductive film 613 to have an almost flat surface, resulting in a uniform alignment state of the liquid crystal layer 612.

An example of the method for manufacturing the display panel 600 is described. For example, the conductive film 635, the conductive film 663, and the insulating film 620 are formed in order over a support substrate provided with a separation layer, and the transistor 605, the transistor 606, the light-emitting element 660, and the like are formed. Then, the substrate 651 and the support substrate are bonded with the adhesive layer 642. After that, separation is performed at the interface between the separation layer and each of the insulating film 620 and the conductive film 635, whereby the support substrate and the separation layer are removed. Separately, the coloring layer 631, the light-blocking film 632, the conductive film 613, and the like are formed over the substrate 661 in advance. Then, the liquid crystal is dropped onto the substrate 651 or 661 and the substrates 651 and 661 are bonded with the adhesive layer 641, whereby the display panel 600 can be manufactured.

A material for the separation layer can be selected such that separation at the interface with the insulating film 620 and the conductive film 635 occurs. In particular, it is preferable that a stacked layer of a layer including a high-melting-point metal material, such as tungsten, and a layer including an oxide of the metal material be used as the separation layer, and a stacked layer of a plurality of layers, such as a silicon nitride layer, a silicon oxynitride layer, and a silicon nitride oxide layer be used as the insulating film 620 over the separation layer. The use of the high-melting-point metal material for the separation layer can increase the formation temperature of a layer formed in a later step, which reduces impurity concentration and achieves a highly reliable display panel.

As the conductive film 635, an oxide or a nitride such as a metal oxide or a metal nitride is preferably used. In the case of using a metal oxide, a material in which at least one of the concentrations of hydrogen, boron, phosphorus, nitrogen, and other impurities and the number of oxygen vacancies is made to be higher than those in a semiconductor layer of a transistor is used for the conductive film 635.

<3-3. Components>

The above components will be described below.

[Adhesive Layer]

As the adhesive layer, a variety of curable adhesives such as a reactive curable adhesive, a thermosetting adhesive, an anaerobic adhesive, and a photocurable adhesive such as an ultraviolet curable adhesive can be used. Examples of these adhesives include an epoxy resin, an acrylic resin, a silicone resin, a phenol resin, a polyimide resin, an imide resin, a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin, a polyvinyl butyral (PVB) resin, and an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) resin. In particular, a material with low moisture permeability, such as an epoxy resin, is preferred. Alternatively, a two-component-mixture-type resin may be used. Further alternatively, an adhesive sheet or the like may be used.

Furthermore, the resin may include a drying agent. For example, a substance that adsorbs moisture by chemical adsorption, such as an oxide of an alkaline earth metal (e.g., calcium oxide or barium oxide), can be used. Alternatively, a substance that adsorbs moisture by physical adsorption, such as zeolite or silica gel, may be used. The drying agent is preferably included because it can prevent impurities such as moisture from entering the element, thereby improving the reliability of the display panel.

In addition, it is preferable to mix a filler with a high refractive index or light-scattering member into the resin, in which case light extraction efficiency can be enhanced. For example, titanium oxide, barium oxide, zeolite, zirconium, or the like can be used.

[Connection Layer]

As the connection layer, an anisotropic conductive film (ACF), an anisotropic conductive paste (ACP), or the like can be used.

[Coloring Layer]

Examples of a material that can be used for the coloring layers include a metal material, a resin material, and a resin material containing a pigment or dye.

[Light-Blocking Layer]

Examples of a material that can be used for the light-blocking layer include carbon black, titanium black, a metal, a metal oxide, and a composite oxide containing a solid solution of a plurality of metal oxides. The light-blocking layer may be a film containing a resin material or a thin film of an inorganic material such as a metal. Stacked films containing the material of the coloring layer can also be used for the light-blocking layer. For example, a stacked-layer structure of a film containing a material of a coloring layer which transmits light of a certain color and a film containing a material of a coloring layer which transmits light of another color can be employed. It is preferable that the coloring layer and the light-blocking layer be formed using the same material because the same manufacturing apparatus can be used and the process can be simplified.

The above is the description of the components.

<3-4. Manufacturing Method Example>

A manufacturing method example of a display panel using a flexible substrate is described.

Here, layers including a display element, a circuit, a wiring, an electrode, optical members such as a coloring layer and a light-blocking layer, an insulating layer, and the like, are collectively referred to as an element layer. The element layer includes, for example, a display element, and may additionally include a wiring electrically connected to the display element or an element such as a transistor used in a pixel or a circuit.

In addition, here, a flexible member which supports the element layer at a stage at which the display element is completed (the manufacturing process is finished) is referred to as a substrate. For example, a substrate includes an extremely thin film with a thickness greater than or equal to 10 nm and less than or equal to 300 μm and the like.

As a method for forming an element layer over a flexible substrate provided with an insulating surface, typically, there are two methods shown below. One of them is to directly form an element layer over the substrate. The other method is to form an element layer over a support substrate that is different from the substrate and then to separate the element layer from the support substrate to be transferred to the substrate. Although not described in detail here, in addition to the above two methods, there is a method in which an element layer is formed over a substrate which does not have flexibility and the substrate is thinned by polishing or the like to have flexibility.

In the case where a material of the substrate can withstand heating temperature in a process for forming the element layer, it is preferable that the element layer be formed directly over the substrate, in which case a manufacturing process can be simplified. At this time, the element layer is preferably formed in a state where the substrate is fixed to the support substrate, in which case transfer thereof in an apparatus and between apparatuses can be easy.

In the case of employing the method in which the element layer is formed over the support substrate and then transferred to the substrate, first, a separation layer and an insulating layer are stacked over the support substrate, and then the element layer is formed over the insulating layer. Next, the element layer is separated from the support substrate and then transferred to the substrate. At this time, selected is a material with which separation at an interface between the support substrate and the separation layer, at an interface between the separation layer and the insulating layer, or in the separation layer occurs. With the method, it is preferable that a material having high heat resistance be used for the support substrate or the separation layer, in which case the upper limit of the temperature applied when the element layer is formed can be increased, and an element layer including a more highly reliable element can be formed.

For example, it is preferable that a stack of a layer containing a high-melting-point metal material, such as tungsten, and a layer containing an oxide of the metal material be used as the separation layer, and a stack of a plurality of layers, such as a silicon oxide layer, a silicon nitride layer, a silicon oxynitride layer, and a silicon nitride oxide layer be used as the insulating layer over the separation layer.

As the method for separating the support substrate from the element layer, applying mechanical force, etching the separation layer, and making a liquid permeate the separation interface are given as examples. Alternatively, separation may be performed by heating or cooling two layers of the separation interface by utilizing a difference in thermal expansion coefficient.

The separation layer is not necessarily provided in the case where the separation can be performed at an interface between the support substrate and the insulating layer.

For example, glass and an organic resin such as polyimide can be used as the support substrate and the insulating layer, respectively. In that case, a separation trigger may be formed by, for example, locally heating part of the organic resin with laser light or the like, or by physically cutting part of or making a hole through the organic resin with a sharp tool, and separation may be performed at an interface between the glass and the organic resin. As the above-described organic resin, a photosensitive material is preferably used because an opening or the like can be easily formed. The above-described laser light preferably has a wavelength region, for example, from visible light to ultraviolet light. For example, light having a wavelength of greater than or equal to 200 nm and less than or equal to 400 nm, preferably greater than or equal to 250 nm and less than or equal to 350 nm can be used. In particular, an excimer laser having a wavelength of 308 nm is preferably used because the productivity is increased. Alternatively, a solid-state UV laser (also referred to as a semiconductor UV laser), such as a UV laser having a wavelength of 355 nm which is the third harmonic of an Nd:YAG laser, may be used.

Alternatively, a heat generation layer may be provided between the support substrate and the insulating layer formed of an organic resin, and separation may be performed at an interface between the heat generation layer and the insulating layer by heating the heat generation layer. For the heat generation layer, any of a variety of materials such as a material which generates heat by feeding current, a material which generates heat by absorbing light, and a material which generates heat by applying a magnetic field can be used. For example, for the heat generation layer, a material selected from a semiconductor, a metal, and an insulator can be used.

In the above-described methods, the insulating layer formed of an organic resin can be used as a substrate after the separation.

The above is the description of a manufacturing method of a flexible display panel.

Note that the structure and the method described in this embodiment can be used in appropriate combination with any of the structures and the methods described in the other embodiments.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE

P1: region, P2: region, P3: region, P4: region, P5: region, P6: region, P7: region, P8: region, 001: region, 002: region, 100: transistor, 100A: transistor, 100B: transistor, 100C: transistor, 100D: transistor, 102: substrate, 104: insulating film, 106: conductive film, 108: metal oxide, 108_1: metal oxide, 108_2: metal oxide, 108_3: metal oxide, 112 a: conductive film, 112 b: conductive film, 112 c: conductive film, 114: insulating film, 116: insulating film, 118: insulating film, 120 a: conductive film, 120 a_2: conductive film, 120 b: conductive film, 120 b_2: conductive film, 151:

opening, 152 a: opening, 152 b: opening, 200A: transistor, 200B: transistor, 200C: transistor, 200D: transistor, 202: substrate, 204: insulating film, 206: conductive film, 208: metal oxide, 208 i_1 a: metal oxide, 208_2 a: metal oxide, 208_3 a: metal oxide, 208 i: region, 208 i_1: region, 208 i_2: region, 208 i_3: region, 208 n: region, 210: insulating film, 210_0: insulating film, 212: conductive film, 212_0: conductive film, 216: insulating film, 218: insulating film, 220 a: conductive film, 220 b: conductive film, 240: mask, 241 a: opening, 241 b: opening, 243: opening, 600: display panel, 601: transistor, 604: connection portion, 605: transistor, 606: transistor, 607: connection portion, 612: liquid crystal layer, 613: conductive film, 617: insulating film, 620: insulating film, 621: insulating film, 623: conductive film, 631: coloring layer, 632: light-blocking film, 633 a: alignment film, 633 b: alignment film, 634: coloring layer, 635: conductive film, 640: liquid crystal element, 641: adhesive layer, 642: adhesive layer, 643: conductive film, 644: EL layer, 645 a: conductive film, 645 b: conductive film, 646: insulating film, 647: insulating film, 648: conductive film, 649: connection layer, 651: substrate, 652: conductive film, 653: semiconductor film, 654: conductive film, 655: opening, 656: polarizing plate, 659: circuit, 660: light-emitting element, 661: substrate, 662: display portion, 663: conductive film, 666: wiring, 672: FPC, 673: IC, 681: insulating film, 682: insulating film, 683: insulating film, 684: insulating film, 685: insulating film, 686: connector, 687: connection portion.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application serial no. 2016-137193 filed with Japan Patent Office on Jul. 11, 2016, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 

1. A metal oxide having a plurality of energy gaps, comprising: a first region having an energy level of a conduction band minimum; and a second region having an energy level of a conduction band minimum lower than the energy level of the conduction band minimum of the first region, wherein the second region comprises more carriers than the first region, wherein a difference between the energy level of the conduction band minimum of the first region and the energy level of the conduction band minimum of the second region is greater than or equal to 0.2 eV, wherein an energy gap of the first region is greater than or equal to 3.3 eV and less than or equal to 4.0 eV, and wherein an energy gap of the second region is greater than or equal to 2.2 eV and less than or equal to 2.9 eV.
 2. A semiconductor device comprising: the metal oxide according to claim 1; a gate electrode; a source electrode; and a drain electrode.
 3. A metal oxide having a plurality of energy gaps, comprising: a first region having an energy level of a conduction band minimum; and a second region having an energy level of a conduction band minimum lower than the energy level of the conduction band minimum of the first region, wherein the first region comprises one of an M oxide, an M nitride, and an In-M-Zn oxide, wherein M is at least two kinds of elements selected from Al, Ga, Si, Mg, Zr, Be, and B, and wherein the second region comprises one of an In oxide and an In—Zn oxide,
 4. A semiconductor device comprising: the metal oxide according to claim 3; a gate electrode; a source electrode; and a drain electrode.
 5. A metal oxide comprising: a first region having a first energy gap; and a second region having a second energy gap, wherein the first region has an energy level of a conduction band minimum higher than an energy level of a conduction band minimum of the second region, wherein the first region comprises a first oxide of a first metal element, wherein the second region comprises a second oxide of a second metal element, wherein the first oxide comprises a third element different from the first metal element to increase an energy gap, and wherein a concentration of the third element in the first region is higher than a concentration of the third element in the second region.
 6. The metal oxide according to claim 5, wherein the first metal element is Ga, wherein the second metal element is In, and wherein the third element is at least two kinds of elements selected from Al, Si, Mg, Zr, Be, and B.
 7. The metal oxide according to claim 6, wherein the first region further comprises In and Zn, and wherein the second region further comprises Zn.
 8. A semiconductor device comprising: the metal oxide according to claim 5; a gate electrode; a source electrode; and a drain electrode. 